The Things You See Along the Way…

We got back from our trip to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park a couple of days ago and I have been working to get caught up with this and that.  I thought I would share with you a few things we saw along the way.

Somewhere in Pennsylvania, we got off the highway to avoid heavy traffic and passed through a town, which I believe is Pottsville, home of Yuengling beer.  Anyhow, I was taken by this doorway.  The sign above says "Grateful Thread."  Do you suppose they sold clothing or fabric?

Have you been wondering what's happened to Superman lately?  I spotted him hitching a ride somewhere in Virginia.  With the state of the world the way it is right now, I think he needs to wake up and get to work.

Once we got into Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, we were dazzled by all the entertainment possibilities.  Too bad we weren't staying close to there.  I would have liked to know what that pig would have said about the state of my mind.

You know, people always have to write on things.  They just can't seem to help it.  We saw this particular graffiti on a stone wall inside The Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  Reminds me of my mother who used to say, "If you have kids, you can't have anything nice." Of course, she got a good crop of nice kids and, you know, she would definitely admit to that.

I think when you are traveling in the mountains and they tell you to downshift, you should do it.  Boy, I can still smell this guy's breaks.

Stopping at one of the information centers for a bathroom break, I decided to  hold my bladder and to take pictures of crows instead.  These guys were arguing with a chicken over the possession of half an apple.  I could have watched them for hours.

And all this happened before we got to our final destination.  I love being on the road.

Willy-nilly Friday Five: Fits and Starts

1.  When I took Olive the pug out this morning, I couldn’t believe it.  It was downright cold with a rather biting wind.  It made me think that I had under-dressed for the occasion and should have worn my winter coat or that maybe I accidentally time traveled backwards and it was really February.  But, no, there is no snow on the ground.  It’s definitely April.

2.  Well, I’ve lived here long enough to know that spring comes to New England in fits and starts.  I was out yesterday buying a new toaster but couldn’t decide which one to buy.  In order to put off making a decision, I decided to check Facebook instead.  On Facebook, there was post after post of people complaining that it was snowing.  I missed it yesterday because I was in Target trying to figure out what toaster to buy.  But I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see it snow here today.

Some things are blooming here....really!

3.  Speaking of toasters, Greg and I have been married for close to 35 years and have had terrible luck with toasters.  I think we’ve owned six or seven in those years and we don’t eat that much toast.  We’ve had expensive toasters and cheap toasters.  I don’t see much difference between the two.  The best one we’ve ever had was a middle-of-the-road toaster pricewise.  It was the Oster that I was replacing yesterday.  I bought it at Target about ten years ago and it toasted our toast until a few months ago when it didn’t want to keep the toast down to finish the toasting cycle and had to be coaxed with curses and kind words.  I got sick of babying it.  So, off I went yesterday hoping to find the exact same toaster – the best toaster we’ve ever had – but unfortunately, they’re selling a new model of that Oster there now.  I bought it anyway and am hoping it lasts ten years like the last one, but I’m not holding my breath on that.

I got sick of waiting on the forsythia, too.  I brought this into the house and forced it.

4.  You know, we could probably get by in life without a toaster, but they are handy to have around.  The toaster I bought yesterday is red.  I consider that a kind of bonus.  Yes, I’m happy about that even though my favorite color is blue.

5.  Earlier this morning, I was sitting here at my computer with a blank expression on my face trying to think of what to write about, when I heard a great racket coming from the front yard.  There were six crows in the pines crowing louder than a Counting Crows concert.  I finally had to get up to see what it was all about and looking down, I saw a fox crossing the yard.  I believe the crows must have been warning the whole neighborhood that the foxes were out and about.  They kept at it for about five more minutes and then dispersed one at a time.  I think that crows are about the coolest birds going.  As a matter of fact, they are my favorite bird.  They may not be colorful and flashy, but they are sleek, elegant and intelligent and infinitely fun to watch.  What is your favorite bird?

Linking up with the crowd at Around Roanoke's Willy-Nilly Friday Five!

Random Five Friday: Snow Days…

1)  We got around 10 to 12 inches of snow in this last round of wild winter weather.  But we were very glad that it was all snow and not the dreaded wintry mix.  Snow is much easier to deal with.

2)  The weather has caused us to have a couple of unusual visitors to our birdfeeders.  Yesterday and today, I saw what I think is a Carolina Wren.  I am not positive of the identification though so if you know, I would appreciate it if you could tell me.  We also had a crow who was slumming under our feeder but he wouldn’t turn around so I could get a good picture.

3)  Here’s what it looks like at the end of our driveway.  I feel sort of like I’m living in a shopping mall with that big pile, but my trip to the grocery today made me realize that there are much bigger piles of the white stuff around town.

4)  I like snow and winter but I find it rather amazing that there is such a HUGE difference in comfort level between 15 degrees and 30 degrees.  Today felt rather balmy around here and seeing the sun is almost always good.  I guess that shouldn't really be a surprise.  After all, there's a HUGE difference in comfort level between 72 and 85, too.

5)  So today is Valentine’s Day.  Do you celebrate it?  Early on in our relationship, Greg made it clear that he wasn’t one to celebrate “Hallmark” holidays, so it’s just another day to us.  I minded a bit at first, but it also lets me off the hook, so these days I am okay with it.

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Random 5 Friday!