Checking In

Starting off by asking that you please keep Haiti in your prayers. The devastation is unreal. And, secondly, R.I.P. Teddy! A magnificent singer, oozing sexuality, back in the day. But this cut, made with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, is ageless and appropriate for today, everyday. Wake Up Everybody

"As you enter into Brownsville, Tennessee, you will see the signs that county officials have recently posted. They have a big reason to be celebrating for Brownsville is truly the Home of Champions. Congratulation to Nick Kelly, 2006 Jr. B.A.S.S. World Champion, 2003 National Champion, and Three times Tennessee State Champion." So just who is Nick Kelly and why should you care? That's a question which I've asked myself every morning on my drive into Brownsville as I pass a sign in honor of Nick Kelly.

A few days ago, I decided to ask Patsy Kelly if it was her Nick Kelly, a fellow Wally-ite. "It is! Lord, that boy has given us some wonderful vacations" and she began to rattle off all the places where he had competed, including a stay in Florida in the middle of winter. "Didn't want to come home." I can believe that 'cause it was colder than a witches tit down here last week. 10 degrees??? Get out of here. Thought that I was moving to a slightly warmer clime. N-o-t! So in addition to my cowgirls (yep, more than one), I've also got a bonafide champion working with me.

Another associate filled me in on the various horse breeds. She's down to one; they lost their farm. It's a paint. So aren't paints and pintos the same? N-o-t! Lord, this is an alien place or better yet, I'm the alien. Don't know squat. Paints have big splotches; pintos have more and smaller splotches; quarterhorses are work horses used for cattle, etc. Tennessee Walkers step high and have a very smooth ride. Apaloosas are a solid color with a sprinkling of spots on their rump. Thoroughbred are the race horses. Okay...now you know as much as I do. :-)

And my farming buddy is going to take me to her farm and show me what's what. She has a well. As does my former training coordinator. "Do you have a bulb in your well?" "No, but it hasn't frozen yet." Where do you put a bulb in the well? Which led to the next question in mind: what's the difference between a well and a cistern. Had to come home and do some research on that one. And, no, I'm not telling. You'll have to look it up like I did.

So what's going on at Serendipity, aka Hole-in-the-wall, you ask? The sink is now repaired and all that ugly, lopsided, bent to hell and back plumbing under the sink is gone, replaced with the stand-up straight plumbing I'm accustomed to seeing in civilized communities. And a garbage disposal has been installed. Lawd, Lawd. I won't know how to act. Here's hoping that I remember how to use the thing. If you'll remember, I was told that disposals didn't work well here in the Big Rip. I immediately returned it. LIES! Lordy, Lordy, my repairmen have made a fool of me over and over again. A trickle for water for almost 3 years and NO garbage disposal. The good thing is...the Lord doesn't like ugly so it will come back to haunt them. Of that, I am confident.

When they pulled the stove out to install the plugs for the disposal, was I ever shocked to see the biggest gap in the world behind it. Which explains the frigid cold air which greets you every time you walk into the kitchen. Used a whole can of that expanding foam to seal it off (and naturally it went from the edge of the sink to the pantry). Hopefully, it will block some of the cold air and keep out any 4-legged critters. Sheez! No wonder my heaters are working overtime.

I walked around to the patio and discovered that one of the motion detectors had become unplugged. Maybe the two parts didn't want to be plugged together anymore. Or maybe it had a little help.

That's it for the moment. Remember Monday, King's Birthday, is a day on, not a day off. Do something good for somebody. Be blessed.