The Town of Boone finally voted to serve mixed drinks this week. Overwhelmingly, I might add, though I'm surprised the voter turnout wasn't higher for this particular issue. From someone who remembers the days of road-tripping to get something other than a beer, I say, "It's about time!"

Hopefully, the passing of the new ordinance will spur some economic development downtown as it has in surrounding communities like Blowing Rock and Banner Elk. Here's the article from the Democrat, if you're interested.

Cheers!

Dear Body:

I'm a little tired of this upset stomach thing. Two weeks is long enough. I appreciate that my antibiotics are doing their thing, as the whole Salmonella/E.Coli thing was getting rather tiresome, but the drugs are making me feel almost as bad. Let us just be done with this.

Kinda random, but I think I might need to foster a further appreciation for Bollywood movies. I've been thinking about this for a while, now.

Because everything's better with bacon: How It's Made: Bacon

And because this one just blows my mind: How It's Made: Hatchery Chicks. Hang in there until about 2:40, when they get to the "separator". It's pretty surreal after that. My brother's exact words? "I need you to watch this so we can talk about it."

In the spirit of summer (and in an effort to raise my spirits), I present the following poll.

Poll #1243127 Homemade Ice Cream
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Of the flavors you've ever made, which one turned out best?

The correct answer, of course, is Lemon, but I'm still interested in hearing what you have to say... ;)

Props to canticles.

What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Music binder for my guitar group.

( ... ) Hmm. That sounds kind of kinky...

Our local Fox affiliate (Fox8-WGHP) has been running an interesting series on the nightly news: Made In N.C. Each segment features a product made exclusively in N.C., many of them in or around Greensboro. Of course, Pepsi (which originated in New Bern) expanded their operation quite some time ago, but some of our more famous exports still call North Carolina home; Nyquil, Cheerwine, Texas Pete, Thomas Built Buses (you know, the ones you rode to school in every day) and those ubiquitous "Support Our Troops" magnets are manufactured right here in the Triad. Crest Toothpaste is produced for U.S. and worldwide distribution a mere 10 miles from our house.

Some lesser-known, but equally impressive products include Revi Technical Wear (outfitters to NASCAR, IndyCar and world-class cycling teams), Granite Tactical Vehicles (for military use) and Repreve® recycled yarn (used in apparel manufacturing by Patagonia, LLBean, and other major brands). Not only were Krispy Kreme, Bojangles' and The Fresh Market born here, we also happen to be home to the world's largest open-face granite quarry.

Check out the Fox 8 website to peruse the ever-expanding list and watch the corresponding video segment for an inside look into the production of each item. Locals (and beer connoisseurs), especially, will appreciate the tour of the new Red Oak facility.

Off to get my new tires installed. I love the feel of riding on fresh tires. The current set has 92,000 miles on them, so I imagine I'll be able to tell the difference.

While it's on the lift, I plan to diagnose whether the popping noise on the front right is a cracked CV boot. (Actually, it sounds like there might be two that need attention.) Hopefully, the joints are in good shape and can be repacked. I wouldn't be against replacing the whole axle/joint assembly, but I don't know if I can get that done by Friday; it would be nice to take the car to Charleston next week. We'll see.

OK, I'm reporting back, for anyone who cares.

I just watched the pilot for The Cleaner. It was pretty good. Better than the second episode, partially because it explained a few things. Perhaps the second ep wouldn't have seemed quite as far-fetched had I benefitted from a little of the character exposition that went on in the pilot. I don't know; it's still asking a lot to have me believe there's this team of vigilante rehab interventionists out there nabbing people. But I like how conflicted and multi-dimensional they're making Benjamin Bratt's character out to be. Plus, he's still hot, so that doesn't hurt.

I'll keep you posted.

I need to make something to take to a cookout this evening. I think it's gonna be Greek Pasta Salad. Hmm, I thought I had all the ingredients on hand. I have garlic. Looks like I'll be going to the store for everything else.

I just watched the stupidest show (possibly ever) on TV. Why? Why did I do that? *shakes proverbial fist at self* It was called Paranormal State and perhaps because it was on A&E (I'm not even sure why the TV was on that channel; it's usually parked on TBS... Oh, wait. I know.), I thought maybe, just maybe, it would be... good passable. I was wrong. I still watched 2 episodes. *thunk*

Back to why the TV was on A&E. Last night I stumbled across The Cleaner, the premiere of which I had seen advertised a couple of weeks ago. I watched the second episode (the pilot will record tomorrow) and though it's still too early to make a determination about the show, I will tell you one thing: Benjamin Bratt is hot. Kinda makes me wish I had a drug problem...

ETA: Holy smokes! Benjamin Bratt was in Love In The Time Of Cholera. Well, that just moved up on my NetFlix queue. I need to hurry up and finish reading it in Spanish.

OK. I really need to do some laundry.

Happy birthday, canticles! May your next year be as awesome as this past one has shaped up to be!

Keep up the fantastic writing. You inspire me with each and every post. :D

Happy birthday, ccohoon!! Hope you've been enjoying (and everyone else has been tolerating) your gift. ;-)

In celebration of the monumental occasion of your birth, we're going to hit a local burrito joint and go watch The Birds on the silver screen downtown tonight. Hope you have a fabulous evening of your own!

Yay, property taxes. There go another few thousand dollars. I just keep trying to remind myself that there could be worse things. Looking out the window at our lovely yard helps.

Speaking of which, I did a bunch of yard work this weekend and drmellow helped. That's part of the reason it looks so lovely. Now, we have about three truckloads of brush to haul away. I still need to redefine the front beds and thin out the hedge along the driveway, but I did get the side yard all cleared out. Also, I gotta figure out what we're going to spray the roof with to kill the moss. My next big project is going to be to install a pea gravel path around the house.

Have been researching tires today after our epic tire fail on the Interstate yesterday. I should post a picture; it lends new meaning to the term "shred". The tires I was gonna get have been discontinued, but I've narrowed it down to two alternates after considering about 12 different models. Now I just have to decide whether I want them shipped to me or to a store; I'm wondering if I could take them over and get the guy I know who works at the Exxon to mount them for me. Maybe I'll give him a call tomorrow.

It would be really sweet to own my own changing/balancing machine. I could afford one if it weren't for those property taxes.

I'm trying to think of a song I like. Or rather, a song that each time I hear it on the overhead radio in some restaurant, I comment that I like. drmellow is stumped.

It's a country song (which is part of my problem).

It's by a male vocalist (or group, I can't remember).

I've only heard it two or three times (and never on the radio), which makes me think it's at least a couple of decades old. (But it's not classic country.)

It's relatively slow, not up-tempo.

The line that makes me comment that I like it says something about "stars across..." or "stars over..." some kind of water (a river?) or a southern state (Alabama? Mississippi? Kentucky?). Or maybe it's Alabama that sings it. I know, I'm not being very helpful.

It's not "Stars Fell on Alabama", though the line I like might be some kind of tribute to that song. It's also not "Stars Over Texas" by Tracy Lawrence (which I found while trying to Google this paltry bit of information).

A cookie to anyone who can help me figure this out. It's scrambling my noodle!

We're back from vacation, and now that I've had a 16-hour nap, I think I've recovered. Details to follow in upcoming posts.

You know, I really do have an awesome life. If only I could find the time to write about it.

		I will marry Greg.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Atlanta, GA in our fabulous House.
		We will have 8 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a caramel Porsche 550 Spyder.
		I will spend my days as a Graphic Designer, and live happily ever after.

I saw the funniest thing today. I was coming down the stairs this morning and as I turned on the landing, I looked out the window into the backyard. Some movement atop the potting shed caught my eye. The commotion was being caused by a chipmunk, who had somehow climbed up there and gotten stuck. He was beside himself, crashing wildly through sticks and leaves and running repeatedly around the edge of the roof, looking for a way down. (There's an overhang on all sides.)

I watched for a while, thinking I might have to collect a ladder and a bucket and go rescue the poor guy. Finally, he stopped long enough to peer off the front side. Nothing there but driveway. Then, he moved around to the adjacent side. Grassy, but still a long way down. At last, he ventured to the far side of the shed, looking pitiful as he peered over the edge. Then, he perked up for just a moment, long enough for me to realize what he was considering. After a somewhat hesitant pause, the brave little furball took a running, flying leap at my climbing rose (about 8 feet tall and several feet away). He barreled into the thorny foliage about 6 feet off the ground and I watched the bush sway back and forth for a few minutes.

Afraid that the little guy had impaled himself, I felt obligated to witness the outcome. Shortly, the bush stopped swaying and he made his way down the stalk. He promptly scampered up the rock wall and I observed him several hours later, still sitting there smugly in the sun. Time will tell if he learned his lesson, though he sure put on an entertaining show!

I cannot believe this just transpired:

M and G, freshly showered after an afternoon of yard work, are in the Living Room.

M: [sits down on sofa] OK, are we going to watch this movie?
G: Yes. As soon as I finish sorting my laundry. [dumps contents of laundry basket on floor]
M: Alright.
G: Here. Feel this. [holds out pair of blue and brown-checked boxers]
M: Why? [looks skeptical]
G: Just feel this. [waves boxers closer]
M: [grabs boxers with right hand] Ew. They're soaking wet.
G: [laughs hysterically]
M: What? Did the dryer not finish drying?
G: [with glee] No! That's my sweaty underwear!
M: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

I think it would have been totally cool to have had our wedding rehearsal dinner at a bowling alley. Ah, well. There's next time, right? ;-)

Maybe we need to throw a party at a bowling alley just for the heck of it...

Yep, it's 7:00am. I hear the beeping of trucks on our street, readying for another day of tree carnage. They've been showing up like clockwork all week, even yesterday in the rain. The power company is pruning branches from the right-of-way, which runs through the middle of the block behind our house.

Last night, they left our backyard looking like this:

That's all debris from my next-door neighbor's trees. They appear to be using our backyard as a staging area, probably because our driveway runs through to the back of our property. My guess is they're planning to use it to drag everything down to the chipper parked in front of the house. I'm hoping they'll be nice and haul away the pile of branches I amassed when pruning our fig tree. I figure it's the least they could do.

Doorbell! Ha. They want me to go move the car. Got to find some shoes...