photo #1525753

Update time. Yesterday was "townie day". From the time we leave our driveway until we pull back in is usually two hours for a three week "topoff". 34 miles round trip. Gas was $2.79/gal. Milk at Aldi's was $1.97/gal. Bacon $3.79/lb. Yes, we make our own bread. We know how to freeze it with a paper towel in it. We've learned how to freeze milk and cream. The store manager told us that there were over 50 items that are "no longer available" due to lack of suppliers now. We got over 7" of rain yesterday, which raised cain with hillsides and driveways. It also caused another food store to blow a transformer, and they had no refrigerated or frozen in the coolers, it was all packed into four refrigerated trucks brought in for the occasion. Seems it took Duke energy over ten hours to respond, then they started effecting replacement. There was only one checker working, the rest were frantically trying to get the store back up. Self check? Me? Surely you jest. Maybe if they gave a 10% discount, but out of the goodness of my heart? After owning my own store, no way. That costs jobs and social security wage contributions. Nope. Nope. After we got home came the unloading dance including all coolers and "stuff", followed by the date rotation of stock and restocking, freezing, putting everything away. During the whole process, George was watching as usual, quite amused in his tree. When I heard him, I looked up and saw him! Lord he got fat ! He saw me start pointing and laughing, and I knew I was in for it later at cocktail hour. No, he didn't disappoint, even threw over 50 pine cone petals (the ones with the sharp points) in my chair! Yeah, he can be vindictive when he wants. After making him apologize, I gave him some applejack and we talked. He told me that he'd started seeing the leaves changing color, and the nighttime temperatures falling. He'd been stocking up his winter food stash, too. He also told me he decided to put on his winter fat to insulate himself, and that's when I spit out my swig and almost fell out my chair laughing. Then, he made my breath suck in. Seems he'd cracked a persimmon seed, and clearly saw a spoon in it, which means shovelling a lot of snow. My wood shed's full, but now I've gotta confirm his prognostication and start splitting more oak as standby. It'd completely escaped me. I could blame it on age because it's convenient, but the truth of the matter is we're being distracted by so much right now, we're ignoring the critical things that brought us to this dance to start with. 98% of what we're seeing and hearing right now is a new type of propaganda designed to incite, divide, and politicize everything. The biggest purveyors of this vitriolic regurgitation are the ancient politicians, who apparently can't do anything else except run their mouths contradicting themselves. It's fascinating to watch local/state/national news trying to qualify as the next huge soap opera! Take away their coiffed hairdos, Botox, plastic surgery and cosmetics, put them in blue jeans and a tee or long sleeved shirt and they wouldn't even be able to raise their eyes to see the camera. It's totally disgusting, and SO reminiscent of the Star Trek original series episode "Patterns Of Force". Pablum for the masses, as it were. Instead of actually doing their jobs, they're the "new" actors/actresses! It's really begun to effect our society, and George was right. Again. Dang squirrel's smarter than most ! No matter what they say or do, it won't affect my family or George. That's how we roll.