Support Your Local Distillery

I totally believe in supporting local businesses. 

I frequent the small independent hardware store. 

Before they closed (were taken over by the BigBoys) I used an independent pharmacy.

We go to the farmers market and ‘buy local’ as much as possible.

So when I learned that we have our very own local independent rum distillery I was all……..I’m in!

Wicked Dolphin is a family run craft distillery making award winning artisan rum.

They use local sugar and work with local farmers for their other ingredients, in keeping with the ‘local’ mindset.

They have tours every Tuesday and Thursday open to the public.

Husband and I were ‘Johnny on the spot’ the very first day. (If you go to their Facebook page and scroll down to July 1^st you’ll see a picture of Husband. I was hiding behind him!)

It’s an interesting little tour and you get to taste some of their rum at the end.

BONUS!

It is hands down, without a doubt the BEST rum I have ever tasted. (and I am somewhat of an expert on rum…..;)

If you get a chance, try it! I totally recommend it!

I am a non paid, unofficial spokesperson for Wicked Dolphin.  LOL

No, I didn’t get any free rum for this post. Only what everyone gets during the tour!

Creative Constipation

Sometimes I find myself in a state of suspended animation. 

Bouncing from one project to another. Unable to focus on any of them or to make any progress.

Stuck.

Mired. 

Immovable.

Stumped.

At a complete loss.

You know the place.

And it makes me cranky.

I call it creative constipation. (I find it helps to name a state of mind that annoys you. It gives it form. Something to aim at. Plus it’s funny.)

Over the years Husband has come to recognize this condition and doesn’t take my grouchiness personally.

Now he just hands me Tablet and says, “Draw something!”

Have I told you lately I’m married to a very smart man? 

Mail Love

Some days the mail isn’t worth the walk down the driveway.

Then there are days like THIS!

I actually gasped with delight when I opened the envelope!

The very talented (and my blog friend I’m pleased to say)      

Sue Tincher Maib paints the most amazingly beautiful, sumptuously colored watercolor flowers. She paints more than just flowers, but I am in awe of her garden creations. I secretly coveted one of her works of art (how she knew I’ll never know…. wink, wink, nudge, nudge! LOL)

Thank you sooooooooo much Sue! I’m still grinning! ♥♥♥

Picky Eater

Have I mentioned I was a picky eater growing up? My mother would try and bribe me, persuade me, cajole me, anything to get me to eat new things or things that were good for me.

I think the harder she tried the more I dug my heels in.

It must be a mother/child thing.

Because when I met Husband it all changed.

He could get me to taste anything.

One day he offered me a piece of calamari saying, “Here, try this.”

I said, “No thank you, I don’t eat rubber bands.”

He just shrugged and said, “Fine, more for me.”

And when it stopped being a power struggle I found I really did want to try it.

I was right; it was a deep fried rubber band.

But I tried it!

(Yeah, I know. It looks more like a fish but it's a squid!)

Is it calamari or rubber bands? Ha! Trick question! They're the same thing!

What The.........?

What IS this stuff?

Get it off! Get it off!

Monday? Thursday? Sunday……….?

When we first moved down here I reveled in the lack of winter and seasonal changes.

The first Christmas was so liberating. We had the house wide open. We even swam in the pool in our Santa hats! (Note: we don’t have a heated pool! Silly Northerners!)

But I soon found myself missing the seasonal indications of passing time. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss northern winters………at all. (Well, maybe just a little during a hot flash.)

But I never realized how much I depended on these signals.

Up north the days grow shorter and cooler. The trees start to drop their leaves and you know it’s time to start decorating and readying for Halloween.

Down here the trees drop their leaves whenever they damn well feel like it. The Bottlebrush tree drops its leaves and blooms ALL THE TIME…ALL OVER THE DRIVEWAY! But I digress…..

Down here if it wasn’t for the grocery stores putting out gargantuan sized bags of candy I’d never know it’s time to stock up for trick or treaters.

I was never a big mall shopper, so Christmas also sneaks up on me. I don’t see all the decorations in the stores because I don’t GO to the stores.

There are subtle changes of season down here. And the longer I live here the more attuned I become to them. But it’s still not the same.

Now I’ve lost my last bastion of ever knowing.

Since Husband’s retirement I have no idea what day of the week it is. Weekday? Weekend? They all blend together.

Not that it really matters.

But it’s totally weird.

The Last Straw

I went to the pharmacy today to stock up on a few necessities. As I was checking out the young man behind the counter asked me for my Medicare card!

SAY WHAT?

I’ve never minded when the girl at the movies gives me the senior discount without asking.

Cut rate early bird specials at the restaurants….bring it on!

Price breaks for rental cars and hotel rooms? I’m all for it!

But this…….

This is going too far!

6's & 7's

A state of ineptitude where you cannot reliably take action.

Words Fail Me

GIANT Retirement Perk

Husband has taken to vacuuming the house.

Not that he hasn’t always jumped in to lend a hand from time to time.

But now he seems to be doing it on a regular basis!

♪♫♪♫♪ Hosanna and Hallelujah ♪♫♪♫♪♫

It does make me feel slightly guilty….like I’m not holding up my end of the bargain.

But I’ve decided to bite the bullet and to live with the guilt! (I’m sure I’ll get over it, eventually…..;)

This:

Plus this:

Equals this:

New Puzzles in the Shop!

Hop on over and take a look! J

Eater’s Remorse

I also suffer from eater’s remorse.

It’s just like buyer’s remorse except with food.

And there is no possibility of returning the items, like with buyer’s remorse.

(Well, I guess there is a way but…..um, no.) 

I have noticed over the years my eaters remorse goes through cycles.

The holidays come along and I use them as an excuse to party hearty. C’mon, it’s the holidays!

(I need to state here that ANY holiday will do for this excuse. Flag Day IS TOO a holiday!)

Then the pounds start piling on and my blood sugars start rising and I feel guilty.

I try to be good. I really do.

Mostly…..

But I get downright serious in the few months before the dreaded doctor’s appointment.

The yearly checkup where she will look at me sternly as she reads me my ‘numbers’.

Cholesterol.

Blood sugar.

Weight. 

In anticipation of the dreaded rendezvous I find myself doing what I have lovingly dubbed ‘cramming for the finals’.

In the weeks leading to the ‘showdown’ I eat nothing but shredded cardboard (Ha! Take that cholesterol! And you, you lousy pancreas! Start doing your duty!)

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Mostly I get the stern look and a handful of prescriptions.

I Didn’t Buy Eggs

I didn’t buy eggs because, as you know, I suffer from ‘puppy syndrome’ (the inability to control myself when it comes to food.)

And if I don’t buy eggs, then I won’t be tempted to eat said eggs (which are not good for my cholesterol.)

Along comes the 4^th of July.

Big food holiday.

At least in our family.

It requires copious amounts of red meat and mayonnaise-y salads.

But I didn’t buy eggs.

So I can’t make potato or macaroni salad. 

Because my mother’s recipes require hard boiled eggs.

Instead I opt to slice the potatoes paper thin and bake them to a delicious see through crispiness in the oven.

Because I didn’t buy eggs.

My oven only has two racks so I am limited to the amount of potato chips I can make, therefore saving me from myself and my aforementioned ‘puppy syndrome’.

We have chicken burgers and homemade potato chips and carrot sticks. A healthy meal I’m sure my doctor would approve, all because I didn’t buy eggs!

I feel downright saintly! 

Excuse me, I have to go polish my halo now……..

Scathingly Brilliant Idea

'Smell-a Book'….. A scented tag you hang on your device that smells like new book pages for when you read Kindle/Nook books.

Like the fragrance thingies you hang on the rearview mirror in your car.

Hey, if they can make ‘new car smell’ in a can why not?

It will smell like the spanking new crisp pages of a freshly printed book to enhance your reading experience.

Everything is going virtual anyway. We no longer go outside to play games; we play them on our Wii. We no longer read paper books/magazines/newspapers we read them on our devices. And they’re always looking for way to enhance the experience to make it more like the ‘real’ thing? So why not 'Smell-a-Book' ?

Of course the obvious solution is to do the ‘real’ thing to begin with, but that seems to be counterintuitive these days.

GIVEAWAY

I’ve been having soooo much fun with my new stamps!

‘Building’ apartments and creating streets scenes (I think I must have been an architect in a former life, LOL.)

Anyway……

I want to share my glee!

So, anyone who would like a set of (six) blank note cards just e-mail me (link on sidebar →) your name and address and I’ll pop a packet in the post!

Free, no charge, gratis, complimentary……..

Anyone, anywhere (all I ask is non US residents please type out your address the way it should appear on the label. I get confused as to where to put ‘territory’ and postal codes for foreign addresses.)

These just make me  J  
I hope they make you smile too!

Each set is six different designs. (Pen not included, it's just there for artistic purposes!)

Angry Bird

Done at last! Whew! :)

Red, White & Blue!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!

Thank you to all who have fought (and are still fighting) for my freedoms! 

I’m in Trouble………….

Big, big trouble.

Right here in River City.

I said I’d never do it.

It’s ridiculous.

Not me!

I’m a purist.

No Kindle/Nook for me!

I want the whole tactile experience! Placing the order. Anticipating the delivery. Excitement of receiving the box and tearing it open.  Being the first person to hold that particular copy in my hands. Enjoyment of cracking the spine. Turning the pages. Ah….that new book smell! I want to immerse myself in the event!

I don’t want to hold a radiating gadget in my hands, weighed down by the heaviness of the device. Basking in the glow of a screen just doesn’t seem the same. It makes my eyes tired and burn if I read it too long.

It’s just not right.

But then………

Instant gratification.

The ability to have it exactly when I lust for it.

The vast assortment to choose from!

Books, magazines, newspapers………..and they offer some of the ones I actually read!

Hallelujah….I hear the angels singing…..

With a simple tap on the screen I can have whatever tickles my fancy at any given moment.

(Have I mentioned I have issues with late night decisions? LOL)

This is not good.

In the light of day I know I must control my impulses.

But then night falls and I sit basking in the glow of the small screen, giggling with delight as I read my latest purchase!

Damn you technology!

The First Blip……..

On the retirement radar.

I have full and total control of the TV remote.

I USED to have control of the remote.

(Have I mentioned I don’t do well with change…..?)

Husband is an early riser. That means he’s the one to turn on the TV and choose what to watch.

I’m usually still in bed or on the computer so no biggie.

That is until I go into the living room.

He watches the news and weather.

I understand this. He’s an avid angler and needs to know the forecast.

But five hours a day of repeated bad news is beginning to wear on my nerves.

Other than that I’m okay with the shows he chooses.

Fishing shows aren’t my favorite but they’re kind of informative.

He also watches a lot of car restoration stuff.

I actually like these.

Then there’s the auto auction.

Continuous coverage of old-classic-expensive-and rare cars………..only goes so far.

Especially when I’m dying to channel surf during the commercials.

I mean I might be missing the 5,984,943,815 showing of the classic Gene Tierney movie Laura! (The fact that I can recite the dialog along with the entire movie is of no consequence!)

Did someone say control issues……?

Could Be Worse….

My parents were a wealth of idioms.

To the point of nausea.

I guess that’s why they’re colloquialisms.

One of their favorites was; ‘Could be worse’…..for whatever insignificant problem I was complaining about.

I guess it was to teach me to look on the bright side. (Or just shut me up!)

I find myself uttering the same platitudes to the boys…..’Could be worse’…….

But sometimes I get this niggling feeling….. in the back of my mind……. that as I lay on my deathbed, someone is going to lean down and whisper in my ear…..’Could be worse’……LOL