Alas.  Yet again.....I've been woefully neglectful of my blog.  I had such lofty and grand intentions of pouring my heart and soul out and scribing wise, meaningful, deep and insightful musings........but instead, I occasionally and sporadically pen some rambling and non-sensical stuff that would make most anyone reading my blog want to poke their eyes out with rusty nails.  Oh well.  Writing the occasional rambling memory or experience out to mull over is MUCH cheaper than psychotherapy. And probably more effectively cathartic. If you do stumble onto this blog and end up reading my diatribes.....just realize that I'm mostly writing for my own pleasure and sanity.  And I'm sorry to subject you to it.  I'm truly sorry.  I typically write like I talk.....and I tend to chase my own tail down rabbit trails and tangents that lend no insight or meaning to my conversation......and I just get lost in my own random thoughts most of the time. Anyhoo.....fair warning.

This last month of my life has been.....well.....it's been interesting.  My entire work life has been up-ended and tossed on it's head.  I will admit that it has been exceedingly stressful.  My office was closed and I was charged with moving almost the entire contents of the office....lock-stock-and-barrel 40 miles to the west....a feat accomplished almost single-handedly.  I think I made a total of 11-12 trips back and forth with the back of my Element cram-packed with boxes getting it all moved.  In the change-up, I lost an employee (who means the world to me) to downsizing.... and that was the single worst part of the entire ordeal. I'm still struggling.....adjusting to my new role, my new office, the new routine.  Don't get me wrong....I love the folks I work with - and think they are awesome - and I knew most of them very well long before the changes....but it has still been incredibly stressful.  I'm not an old codger who resists change....but it does take me some time to adjust.  I'm getting a little better and my anxiety level is decreasing somewhat as time goes on; and I am able to get a better grasp on what's expected of me.  I am putting in a LOT of hours though and I'm always behind.  I am in the office from 7am until about 6pm almost every day Monday thru Friday and then I lug my laptop home every night and right after I cook dinner....I usually end up on the couch doing paperwork until bedtime. That doesn't leave a lot of time for my hobbies or my husband or my puppy or writing or well....just about anything. I think that once I am able to get caught up and get a regular routine in place, things will ease up and I can get my evenings and home-life back again.

That said, I've had some pretty wonderful weekends with Steve.  Three weekends ago, we drove down to Pulaski, TN to the Milky Way Farm (owned by Mr. Frank Mars, of the Mars Candy Company fame....hence, the name "Milky Way" like the candy-bar).  Every September they have a charity arts/crafts/antique show in the giant stone barn there called "Bella Rustica" and we braved an overcast and misty Sunday afternoon to attend.  The barn is down a long and dusty winding gravel road and the scenery was beautiful.  The leaves were just beginning to have a blush of autumn color and hint that harvest time was coming.  The barn was filled with booth after booth of artwork, crafts, antiques, and vintage items.  There was even live-music and food vendor carts! We made our way from one end of the barn to the other, browsing in each booth and getting ideas for decorating in a shabby chic fashion.  I adore the Shabby Chic/French Country decor scheme...so I was in hog-heaven!  While we were looking, I spotted an old window.....repainted and it had a vinyl sign declaring "French Market" and it looked like something you'd see in an old shoppe window just off Bourbon Street in New Orleans!!  It was love at first sight!  Steve bought it for me!!!  I got to put a giant "SOLD" sticker on it with my name!!  We left it there in the booth so that we could finish looking around (It was quite heavy) and we continued our rounds around the booths and then made our way outside the barn where they had tents set up all across the lawn and picnic tables under the giant oak trees.  There certainly was a lot to see!  Antique tools, vintage metal fans, and old pickup truck, vintage dresses, hats and gloves, jewelry of all kinds, quilts, toys.....pretty much you name it, it was there!  After we'd seen all there was to see, we ventured back in and picked up my window.  We back out to the car and found (MUCH to my dismay) that the window was too big to fit into the trunk of Steve's car.  The only way we had of getting it home was for me to squeeze into my seat and then hold the window in my lap....a feat which required the top of the car to be down and my neck to rest at an almost acute right angle to the left so that the window could tilt back and not shake and rattle against the frame of the car.  So this is how we rode home.  I'm pretty sure it was a sight for sore eyes...us rolling along the country back-roads..me hunkered down in the front seat behind a glass window proclaiming "French Market"....Hahaha!! We did get some odd stares.  But OH WELL.  I was so proud of that window, I just didn't care!  We made a stop in a tiny little town on the way back thru and we stopped and had lunch at an old pharmacy that had been turned into a cafe.  It was very colorful and quaint....but the food was only "so-so".....you could tell that things were frozen and thawed out.  It was nothing to write home about....but it was warm and filling.  It was still a fun trip....even if I did arrive home with a crick in my neck!  And, of course the window looks AMAZING on my living room wall! 

The next weekend, we decided to head out to Grinder Switch (home of Minnie Pearl!)/Centerville, TN to the National Banana Pudding Festival.  And yes, it really IS a real thing!  It was like....part county-fair, part blue-grass festival, part flea-market, part fall-festival, part hoe-down and then...there was something called "The Puddin Path".   The "Puddin Path" was where you paid $3 per person and you received 8 tiny cups of banana pudding and a carton of milk.  Each cup of pudding was made by a different organization and the proceeds went to charity.  My favorite pudding was one made by the little Methodist church ladies.  You just know that pudding made by little old church ladies is going to be good!  My least favorite was....well, I had a tie for the worst 2:  1. Chocolate Banana Pudding.  (I don't care for chocolate) and 2. Elvis Banana Pudding (yep. It had peanut butter).  By the time I had 8 little cups of pudding and a half a carton of milk, I was almost in a Diabetic coma and I was ready to walk around.  Guess who we saw?  Minnie Pearl!!!  Well, not THE Minnie Pearl....but a very reasonable facsimile thereof! She was the cutest little lady with white hair and patten-leather black shoes and a Minnie-Pearl hat with the tag and a gingham dress!!  I talked with her and she of course greeted me with "Hoooowwwdeeeeeee!!!!" in true Minnie style.  She then asked, "How are you folks doin today?"  and I told her "O!  We're just so PROUD TA BE HERE!!"  and we both had a good laugh.  Turns out, she was from the area and knew Minnie when they were both much younger.  I even had my picture made with this sweet lady.  She was a hoot!  After meeting Minnie, we looked around at the craft tables and by then...we'd had quite enough of the Banana Puddin Festival.  I am from a Southern-Red-Neck family myself.....and I embrace my heritage....but O, MY GOODNESS.  There were some folks at this 'Nanner Puddin Festival who made Honey Boo-Boo's family seem sophisticated. 

After we left the 'Nanner Puddin festivities, we drove on down the road to the Grinder's Switch Winery and walked around a bit and then we went to downtown Centerville to check out the town-square.  We walked around some antique shops there and caught the tail-end of a craft show that was wrapping up.  There was even a tent set up serving "Hot-Dogs for Romney" and passing out Romney signs to post in your front yard.  I pride myself on being apolitical....so we passed on the Wienies and the politics (which could be one in the same, really) and took off on foot to find the classic car show that was advertised to be in town.  We went all the way around our elbow to find our thumb....but we finally found the car show and met up with some more colorful characters....in particular, a short and stocky old chap wearing a velvet top hat, carrying a cane and wearing a Waist-Coat that made him look not unlike Bilbo Baggins....and he was carrying around what appeared to be a tin stein of "Ye Old Grogg". His wife was dressed like a human (not a Hobbit) and appeared to be a little embarrassed by her mate's shenanigans and Tom Foolery.  After the car show, we headed back towards home....and a good time was had by all! 

Last weekend, we took another motorcycle trip.....we wanted to ride up to Mont Eagle Mountain to see if the leaves were in full color.  We drove to Murfreesboro, thru Woodbury, along the back roads to Altamont.  We stopped at a mini-mart on top of the mountain in Altamont and went in to get a drink.  I was decked out in my skinny jeans, rock-n-roll t-shirt, black eyeliner and combat boots (I was totally kicking butt and taking names in that outfit!!) and I go in to the store and buy a bottle of..............milk.  We stood outside the store and drank our milk...feeling rather silly.  Altamont was a bit of a rough town.  Several folks came and went while we stood there sipping our milk and most of the were a little scary-looking...you know, in a chain-saw-eat-your-face-while-listening-to-banjo-music kind of way)....and we even saw what appeared to be a drug deal go down between 2 men who were in their 80's if they were a day.  So we gulped down the last of our milk, wiped our mustaches away, suited up and hit the road again.......hitting Coalmont, skipping Gruetly-Logger and then driving along Mont Eagle and down the other side of the mountain - passing Suwanee and down into Winchester and we stopped in a little town called "Cowan".  Cowan was a cute little town with an old log cabin court-house and a train museum housed in an old train station.  Very quaint and quiet little town along the railroad tracks.  It was good to get off the bike and stretch our legs and just walk around a bit.  From there.....we took the back roads parallelling I-24 all the way back up thru Shelbyville and then home.  It was a long ride, but the fall colors were beautiful!! 

I'm not sure what this weekend holds in store.....but Steve has mentioned some shopping because he needs a new suit.  I would like to go shopping (especially since most of my clothes look like I stole them from a Hobo because they are too big for me now!)....but I prefer fresh air to retail air....maybe I can talk him into another side-trip to see the leaves....this weekend should be peak-color time!  Fall is my favorite time of year too.....everything just feels more poignant and meaningful in the autumn air. That sounds corny when I re-read it....but it's true.  I get a melancholy feeling in the fall.  It's not unpleasant or sad.....it's just.....mellow.

Here's to more adventures!!!  And hopefully more faithful blog entries!  I have good intentions, anyway.  :)