Road Closed!

At 4:45 on Saturday morning I made the glorious discovery that water service had returned to Spit and Glue. It was early, and took every ounce of self control I had not to call Sis and screech into the phone "WE HAVE WATER!" I didn't want to wake her on her day off, so went about my business and by seven o'clock had taken a shower, bathed a funky dog, done two loads of laundry, washed the dishes, and to be absolutely certain I wasn't dreaming, flushed the toilet several times for good measure. Hallefrikinlujah! By yesterday's end I managed to finish every other housekeeping item requiring water, including breaking a sweat. Things aren't completely back to normal though, until further notice we'll have to boil water if we want to drink or cook with it. After roughing it over five days, this is not a problem. But wouldn't you know it rained again yesterday and the day before. Jeez... so far September has been the most unpleasant month here. Come on October, one of my favorite months no matter where I am, when you can feel fall in the air and are conscious of up coming holidays from Halloween to New Years... for me it's bliss.
But our road is still closed and frankly not too much of a problem since there are easy back-ways to take to get to town from here. Part of me wishes the road would stay closed. It's so nice and quiet without the traffic we usually hear. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just enjoying while I can.

No Respect for Elders!

It may not be the most original idea to come along, but I'll bet at some point there will be an organization of blogaholics taking heat from friends, relatives, employers and even their own children for neglecting real life in the name of the blog. Working their recovery programs will be a real trick since twelve-step meetings are likely to take place in online chat rooms, putting the addict right back in front of his/her monitor where the problem began in the first place. I've had the luxury of being able to spend much of my weekdays making something out of nothing, i.e., "Sandwich 365". I mean really, I'm no chef, I don't have a treasure of recipes I've perfected over time or original sandwich concoctions to share with the world. To many (even sometimes to me) a blog about sandwiches seems frivolous and even kind of stupid, but in retrospect, the idea was an accidental good fit for the world of blogs because "foodies" are one of a handful of segregated groups blogging today in huge numbers. Mommy bloggers are big too, followed by travel bloggers, blogs about politics, bloggers who blog about blogging itself and every newspaper and/or magazine publication is obliged to have a blog site in order to capture online readership and drive traffic to their actual publication. Since I'm not a Mommy, a world traveler, a blog expert or a newspaper/magazine, I guess I'm in the right place. But I can't help feeling like there's a void in the blogging world that may or may not be important to fill. That is people who are over the age of 50 and think they're still 30.

I did a little research and found a small blogging faction termed "elder bloggers", YUK! It's a legitimate term, and there are a lot of folks out there over 50 and blogging, but "elder blogger"? The term does nothing for me but make me repel. What I'd like to find or start myself is a network of old hippies who never managed to completely grow out of their hippiedum. Who still have a sense of humor, and who aren't interested in blogging about topics like social security, Medicare, politics or recent hip replacement surgery, ugggg, give me a break. Those are important dialogues sure, but where are all the people I used to hang out with and go to wig-outs with? Can they all have turned into curmudgeons who are happy to drone on about their SS checks and the like? I've hated the process of growing as old as I have and losing my waist, my sense of fun and freedom, and well, freedom. Don't be surprised if one day soon you see a new network of bloggers called "maturprenures" or some other more appealing name. What do you think?

A Camping We Will Go!

Day FIVE with no running water at Spit and Glue. This has me feeling very grumpy indeed, and smelling like a goat. The road is still out which makes for very quiet days and nights, but every time I hear a car go through I think the nightmare could be over soon.  The only vehicles we're seeing are construction crews who are working 24/7 on getting things back in order.  About an hour ago I glanced out the window and saw a guy turning the fire hydrant on accross the street.  I couldn't grab my bucket fast enough. Managed to get 3 buckets full, but let me tell you... water is heavy, and so is the atmosphere out there. Hot like hell, no breeze to be found and thick with humidity.  I could have gotten more but didn't have the strength to carry it.  This photo is of the property two doors down from us, obviously the location where things went very wrong last Sunday night. I need a drink and shower, clean sheets and a hot meal! 

On another topic, you can now get to Spit and Glue via my other blog http://www.samwich365.com/. If you go up there, look for the tab at the top entitled Ma Maison (French for my house) and it will bring you here. Clever, no?  I've been doing some final tweaking of the new design on S365, and think it's turned out to be so damn cute. Take a look if you are so inclind.  More later, promise.  Love you. K

Rain Dancing

It rained all day Saturday, all day Sunday and on Monday we had almost 7 inches of rainfall. Local news predicted another 6 to 7 inches over Tuesday night, it didn't happen. Local news predicted the same for last night, no rain last night either! This is a blessing for many people, but believe it or not we're doing a little 'rain-dancing' in spite of the magical powers of genius coming out of local news rooms. We need rain to fill the buckets.... to fill the toilet tanks to get... well, to get a good flush. Yeah, still no running water, and running out to GET some water is not as easy as it sounds. Our road is still closed and it took Sis over an hour to go 5 miles yesterday on a bottled water/provisions run into town. But other news stories are reminding us of how fortunate we are, indeed. It could be much worse, we could still be without electricity too, or flooded out completely. More later.

Rainy Night in Georgia!

The rain has been relentless for almost 72 hours here. I don't think I slept more than 2 hours last night, between the pounding rain, crackling thunder, scary lightening, power outage and swamp-like heat, I thought it would never end. And it hasn't.  Now we have no running water, and who knows when the county will have us back on the grid?  Talk about a rainy night in Georgia, Honey, and as you can see, I NEVER remember to bring my umbrella.  This little get-up was created by none other than Sis. She's so creative that way.

There's just no way to take a good photo in a rainstorm, but this kind of shows what it was like earlier in the day from the deck on Moms cottage. Dusty, Roman and I just kind of sat there watching in awe.

Me thinking "what about the beautiful plants I've been codeling along all these months, are they going to drownd?"  Dusty and Roman thinking "I'm not going out to poop in this mess" and Sis thinking "Day-time TV really sucks, thank God I have a job to go to every day".  

She couldn't go today because the roads are flooded, so now it's just two dirty old broads sitting around wondering what to do with the rest of the day. Can't cook, bathe or get in the car and go anywhere, and I'm afraid no amount of spit and glue is going to make this day any better. The good news?  We started a new project over the weekend (indoors) and I'll be sharing that with you as we make progress on it.  Hope your all well. More Later.

Neglect?

Hello Spit and Glue... Have I been neglecting you? Yes, I know I have. But you have to understand a few things before you give up on me. For starters I have another blog and not unlike the situation here, I started to let other things interfere with the writing of it. It was simple dumb luck that pulled me out of the slump when an investor came forward and offered to sponsor an upgrade of the site. Not this site, but the other site at http://www.samwich365.com/. I was very excited about making the upgrade until I took a hard look at the pages content and realized that it needed an upgrade too (or at least an incline).  I needed to spend some quality time to figure out it's direction and of course a new overall look. That's why the pickens here on SAG have been slim lately! But I'm almost there and anticipating the new design to be done in the next week or so. I'll post a reminder here for the big reveal.

That's the fun reason I've not been here to gab with you. There's also the job front which has me on an emotional roller-coaster. Doubting my marketablity, asking myself the hard questions, looking dead-center into the prospect of having no prospects at my age, my skill-sets, enthusiasm........all the shit that comes along with living with ones decisions. Kind of shakes me to my quik!  I'll spare you the other emotional bagage that goes along with not having an income, why drone on about it?

Then we have the issue of motivation. Motivation to complete some important projects that need completing on the property. Energy to keep them going, to work through the heat, etc. Sometimes all those things arn't lined up right enough for it all to get done, know what I mean?  More later.

Catching Up!

Hello Friends, Followers, Anyone......

You may or may not have noticed, I've been away from Spit and Glue the blog for a few days. Nothing specific has kept me away, just a lack of literary genius, the long suffering job market and a brilliant capacity for procrastination. But I'm back today to fill you in on what gives at Spit and Glue.

I had to scrap my idea to use the old smoker as a compost vessel because it's not made of the right kind of metal. If one uses metal for composting, the metal has to be galvanized. Instead we carved out a spot on the ground using cinder blocks and it looks like it'll work beautifully. This was so simple, it took us all of 5 minutes and because Sis already had the bricks, it cost nothing. Isn't it lovely?

We sent 'OldBlue' to the repair shop and had the lawn professionally mowed on Sunday. Once again these guys did in two hours what usually takes Sis and I a minimum of four. We love it when the lawn is manicured, it makes life seem more orderly some how and it's much easier for me to walk home on, not to mention for the dogs to poop on. Roman and I just went outside to admire it and took this photo.    

We attended a wedding on Saturday evening. Our Neice was married in Las Vegas in a small ceremony with about 25 guests. The Pastor was articulate as he spoke about their promise to one other and how they shall now be one, etc., very touching, not a dry eye in the house. We didn't attend the reception because it was in Las Vegas. We attended the wedding via SKYPE!  A first for everyone involved including the Pastor. First time I've ever attended a wedding without wearing a bra. Ahh technology! Here's a photo of the happy couple, live on the computer screen. How cool is that?

We went multi-cultural this weekend and paid a visit to Atlanta's version of the Taj Mahal. A Hindu temple or "BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir" http://www.swaminarayan.org/.  The structure is fashioned like a giant jigsaw puzzle and no metal holding the building together. The 3 tiers are an homage to the body of God, with columns representing legs, windows as ears, and flags as hair. The red & white flags fly high to symbolize victory of good over evil.  Pink Indian sandstone, Italian marble, and Turkish limestone were used throughout including detailed figurines representing the 16 Hindu stages of human life, from birth to death. Something to ponder at the reflective pool.

From there we went to "China Town" for Vietnamese and a stroll through the Asian market feasting our eyes on things like Grass Jelly Drink, Milk Peanut Soup, Cumquat Lemon Juice, Dried Lily Bulb and Lotus Seed.  How about some Whitebait Wakame Soup for dinner? We could pair it with a nice Bumbu Sate and Needle Ku Ding Tea, no? LOL


Meanwhile, I'm still looking for a job and working on an upgrade form http://www.samwich365.com/. Not sure if it's the wisest thing to do with $140.00 but having invested so much time into it thus far, I have to try and make something worth while of it. Would love to hear from any of you in the way of a comment or two at the end of any post.  It's important to have feed back. It keeps one inspired to write more and adds infinite value to the page overall. Yeah, I'm begging.  See you, Friends.

Some Days!

Some days it's hardly worth gnawing through the restraints!
But I'm coming back soon to finish what I started up here on SpitandGlue! 

Mushroom Anyone?

First compost, now mushrooms.... jeeez, leave a girl alone out in the country and no telling what she'll find herself doing. Once again, you'll have to humor me and take a look at the mushrooms growing all over the yard right now. Like human beings, some of them are stunning to look at, some are averagely interesting, while others have been beaten by the ugly stick. Of course I know close to nothing about identifying a mushroom. Some are piousness, others of course can be eaten and some others are used like a street drug. Do you think potential employers are testing for mushroom these days? Hmmmmmm.......

Looking at their patterns and the way some of them look made me think of flowers of course, but also of crop circles. The design patterns are so intricate and interesting. They almost look like some mathematical equation. These remind me of the ones you see in cartoons or recreated at Disneyland. Isn't there a ride called the "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride". Some of these are technically toadstools while others are actually mushrooms. One must know what one is doing when identifying which are eatable, etc. I'll keep you posted if I'm still here tomorrow.

COMPOST BIN CHOICE

Now look at this beauty! I think this would be the perfect size and stature for us. Looking at it makes my smoker idea pale, no? Anyway, look at all the cool things this has: Drum made from UV-protected polypropylene. Sturdy galvanized tubular steel frame will not rust. Vented lids with animal-resistant locks. Capacity: 7-8 cubic feet (roughly 58 gallons) Daily spin creates compost in as little as 21 days. Recommended by the National Home Gardening Club. Who knew there would come a time in my life when I would be in a place in my life when a compost bin would appeal to me so? It makes my head spin.......I need a job.

COMPOSTING 101

So we've learned a little more and with a decent start on 'Project Compost' I had a brainstorm last night. Take the old smoker from our collection of things to donate to Goodwill and make it into a composting vessel. On looking it over a few minutes ago, I think it could work. Since the materials need oxygen to decompose, I'll take a hammer and nail (or drill), punch air holes into the smoker canister at about 4 to 6 inch intervals until I've covered the surface of the can. Since the canister is made of metal, I'll spray paint it to stop further rusting.

This could be a chink in the armor, have to find out if using that particular metal will work.. If not, we can use a 55 gallon trash can, plastic or galvanized metal and do the same thing. BUT!!!! As you all know, we shall first give it the college try with our favorite and most economical of materials like good old fashioned Spit and Glue. Have you ever?

PHOTOGRAPHS!

Took these on a short walk this morning. Mushrooms Flower Half dog, half flower! Couldn't get this shot again if life depended on it. An abandoned, rusted out trailer hitch. Probably from Gone With The Wind!
This weedy flower is almost neon, very strange and beautiful, no?

Edward, Where Are You?

There she sits, broken-hearted, tried to run but couldn't get stared. "Old'Blue" on her last leg? I'd say we were 85% there before "Old'Blue" decided to clunk-out again yesterday. Full tank of gas, plenty of oil and fully inflated tires so we thought we were home free. Thankfully we were able to mow a path to the cottage before she sputtered to a final quit. Later I spent so much time with the week-wacker I thought we were engaged. Time to call on Edward to bring his special brand of Spit and Glue to the rescue.

The Queens of Compost!

Well not quite the Queens yet. We decided yesterday that composting would be a great idea and easy to do. This little set-up is temporary, we wanted to start small and experiment a little before going 'balls-out'. Keep in mind we don't have garbage disposals here so as it is, we're trashing our kitchen garbage anyway. What a great way to recycle and ultimately grow a superior garden, don't you think?

We've seen a large variety of composting equipment, accessories, etc, on the Internet, but nothing that fits our budget so once again, we're working on a shoe-string and with our own Spit and Glue. The goal? Keeping it 'green' and growing our own super-veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper and heaven knows what else. Can I get a woot-woot?

COUNTRY GARAGE SALE!

Finally! We set a tentative time-frame for the dreaded garage sale that absolutely must take place. Neither one of us are looking forward to spending a weekend or two, or three, unpacking all the junk, putting it out for the world to see and ..... you know the rest.
Our issue is volume, not only do we have box after box of Mother's remaining nik-nak and brick-a-brak, we also have the rusult of Sis' attempt to purge some excess. Over time and in anticipation of selling Spit and Glue she's managed to pack quite a bit away, much of it for the 'moving sale". Yes, I said selling Spit and Glue. But that's another post. October is our target date, before the 15th. I plan on suggesting a thorough bombing for spiders before we start, and if by that time I'm still not employed and weather cooperates, I can get a lot of prep-work done for the sale. Wish you could be here to help!

Project Jumpstart!

All physical labor, save the lawn has come to a screeching halt at Spit and Glue this summer. If you're watching, the last time anything got done was when company came in July and we may have wasted him on minor things instead of important stuff like installing rain gutters on the cottage or clearing the roof of branches and debris... duhhhhh!! Deck painting and repair is out because it's so dog-gone humid and wet right now. But I walked by this door yesterday and thought 'maybe a small, indoor project like painting this door frame would jump start my enthusiasm'. Of course once I have my paint brush out I could do a few other small things in Sis' house while I'm at it. Maybe I'll talk to her about it this evening over a glass of wine. We'll see.

JOB HUNTING!

I'm here to tell you, the better part of this week has been a shit-sandwich! Job hunting at my age and in this town is proving to be some kind of sick joke. Have you ever filled out a job application on-line? There's nothing like it. No wait, there is something like it. Like having a gynecological or proctology exam only you get to keep your clothes on.

I've filled out quite a few recently and the average time for completion is about 50 minutes. Most maddening is that while they have you 45 minutes into the process you're then held captive for 20 pages of psychoanalytical questioning. Are you the life of the party? Are you ever depressed? Which of these statements best describes you, etc., etc!

How do all these mass murderers and perverts get jobs? They all seem to be working stiffs or hard at work (no puns intended) who obviously know something I don't. I have NEVER not been able to get a job! At this rate, how the hell am I supposed make a come-back when this Georgia stint is over? It's frightful and frustrating. I'm back to square one and stymied, face-to-face with how desperately I need a 'plan B' and to top it all off, I'm out of toothpaste!

Julie and Julia, The Movie!

I think it's a safe assumption that anyone who writes a blog has already seen the new movie"Julie and Julia". Two women, Julia Child, famous TV chef and Julie Powell, author/blogger. Two true stories, Julia's rise to literary fame and Julie's mission to cook and blog her way through Julia's literary achievement, a ginormous French cookbook. The movie opened on August 7Th and I've seen it twice. It struck me that scenes in the film relating to Julia's love of French food were far more entertaining to watch than scenes related to Julie's blogging/cooking experience. Of course Julia's scenes were shot in France, Julie's in Queens, New York. Then I realized French food and beautiful scenery had nothing to do with it. It was really about Meryl Streep, I couldn't stop watching her every tick while she was on-camera. What a performance, the woman is ............... AMAZING.......... I need a better adjective. Another treat was to learn a couple of things about cooking and about blogging, such as, always pat-dry raw meat before you cook it, and warming the bowl before adding an egg makes for perfect mayo. Also that in order to have a successful blog, you absolutely must have readers. Otherwise, you're jerking yourself off! Pardon the graphics but the point needs punctuation! One must be able to build and maintain steady reader-traffic to one's blog-site, that's all there is to it. No, I'm not a cook or movie/food critic now, just a huge fan of writers and food and blogging and films that leave you laughing and inspired the way this one did. I would highly recommend seeing it. Note: If you've stumbled upon this site and like it, please help support the effort and do your best to spread the word to others. Thank you!

Trader Joe's!

I could have done a handstand I was so happy to finally make the 50 minute drive to the closest Trader Joe's store around these parts. I told you we were 'rural'.... If you've never been to a 'TJ's' and there's one in your area, you should go check it out. The food is what I would consider to be a cut-above in terms of quality. But the bigger draw is the prices. You can save a small fortune just on cheese and wine. One thing I've heard but have not confirmed is that everything in the store is kosher. Anyway, it was no major shopping spree, just a few favorites and a good excuse to try out the in-dash GPS system in Sis' new Nissan. We stopped for lunch and made it back to Spit and Glue before 2:00. Sis made this pizza on the gas BBQ using pizza dough from TJ's and a few toppings, it was delicious.

It's harder to come back than it is to arrive!

It's harder to come back than it is to arrive. I heard those words float over the din in the market last week and my reflex reaction was to say under my breath, 'ain't that the truth'... after a couple of seconds though I thought again. Yes, well, arriving is not exactly a piece of cake, is it? Or do I even know what it is to 'arrive'? Arrive at what? Arrive where and by whose definition of arrival? Somewhere deep within my life recollections there is a hazy memory of feeling I had made an arrival of some kind, somewhere, but I can't recall specifics. If whatever it was I had arrived at was anything to write home about I should be able to remember it now, right?

It's coming back that I know a little something about. Some may even go as far as to say I've made a career out of 'coming-back'. Or reinventing myself as it were. I'm not saying I'm Madonna, I've just been so many "places" in my life and time you'd think I'd pick one and stay there. The way I figure it, I maybe have one more 'come-back' left in me, and I'm not completely convinced I'll be able to pull it off, so stay tuned. What in hell does all this mean? Is there a message or a moral here to 'arrive at'? Maybe not, or maybe the lesson is not to think so much about what you hear other people say.