Public Transportation

Ok, so as a state employee, one of our benefits the past few years is an Easy Pass for the MTA bus system. Like a lot of people this didn’t appeal to me very much until the recent gas crisis. The last thing I figured I would ever want to do is ride a smelly bus with a bunch of strangers to and from work every day. However, after noticing that my gas expenses had almost tripled in the last few months I decided it was time to give this perk a shot.

So off I went to fill out my state application for a card. This card is electronically created for each individual and allows you to ride the metro buses to and from work for free. They can’t be used to run errands or anything like that, but I figured cutting out about 34 miles a day in commuting wouldn’t be so bad.

Monday was my first day on the bus and I rather enjoyed it. The people leave you alone and it doesn’t smell at all. I have already ridden the bus twice this week and actually missed it today when I had to drive to work because of an Dr.’s appointment. It is so relaxing. You get on the bus and read. Yesterday there was even a traffic accident that didn’t faze me since I didn’t have to drive and pay attention. It’s also extremely stress free. I get to work and I’m not stressed from traffic and I get home with the same results. Plus, I’m only putting about 4 miles a day on my car!! The only down side to my experience is that I’m the first pickup in the mornings and the last drop off in the afternoon. It’s doubled my commute time, but there is always a little give

I guess when you are trying to save money.

So, in my opinion if you have the time and patience for the bus, Go For It! I’m finding I’m much more relaxed and I’m not spending as much on gas.

Bailey’s Haircut!

Poor Bailey hates to get baths or let me brush him. Sadly, when it’s time for him to get groomed, we sometimes have to shave him down completely. Ultimately he should feel much better now with his new “Summer Do”. However, now he looks more like a Beagle than a Cocker Spaniel. For those of you that haven’t met Bailey or don’t remember, I’ve included one of his more glamorous shots to compare with.

Boy I wish I could have seen this first hand!

Last weekend our good friend Kelley had the great opportunity to go to the her Sister-In Law’s wedding. I had heard plenty about the upcoming nuptials but never dreamed it would go quite so far. In the pictures you can see that the bride wore a beautiful dress of black and white that did not quite cover her full back tattoo. J She also sported some black fishnet stockings with satin, knee high converse tennis shoes. I must say, I did not even know such things existed.

The groom as you can see was sporting a dual tone Mohawk that several of the attending friends were fashioning also.

To add a bit more glamour to the wedding you will see that all attendants in the wedding were white males sporting the trendy “Zoot Suits”

Then finally we come to the cake. As you can see it is topped with the “General Lee” and Marilyn Monroe to symbolize things they must love the most. Then the rest of the cake is adorned with cooking utensils, the infamous skull and cross bones and black belts to tie it all together.

I have also included one of the pre-ceremony pictures where the bridesmen (brothers of the bride) actually dropped the bride on the ground during the photo session. I just could not help myself.

I do believe it was all summed up when another attendant of the wedding pointed out that “a wedding just is not a wedding until you have heard Waylon”

Corn Vol 2.

Well, Wednesday night brought the final stages of the corn saga. That evening I spent another 5.5 hours cutting all of the corn off the cob, creaming the cobs (scraping the cobs with a knife to pull out all the juices), blanching the corn, putting the corn in the newly washed containers, waiting on it to cool and then putting it all in the freezer.

For those of you that don't understand blanching corn. In small batches you bring some corn and water to a boil and then cut the heat off. It's a very long, slow, and tedious process.

When all the corn was finished I ended up with 13 quarts and 10 pints of yummy home grown corn!

Corn

Ok, so my grandparents have a garden every year and I'm always wanting some vegetables in the summer. I especially love the "Silver Queen" corn my grandfather grows each year. However, they are in Knoxville and it's sometimes hard for me to get up there when certain vegetables are ready for picking. So I don't get veggies every year because I just can't stop everything to go up there on a moments notice.

Well, yesterday morning Grangraw calls to tell me her and Pepaw are on their way from Knoxville with about 125 ears of corn that they are going to leave on my front porch. Wonderful news right? Except for the fact that now I have to figure out a way to get this all "put up" and there is only a few day window before it will start rotting. Plus, I don't do so well with "surprises" and I didn't even get to see them. They drove down here (at a max of 55 mph I'm sure), dropped off the corn, turned around and went home. Crazy huh?

So, I rush home to make sure the vegetables actually made it to my front porch and not an unsuspecting neighbors and then I start the process. For 5.5 hours last night, I shucked and cleaned corn. :) Now I'm left with the task of cutting it, creaming it, blanching it, and freezing it. I may be done by the fourth if I'm lucky. Of course I will have very yummy corn for the next year, but I'm already exhausted from the first leg of this journey and I'm not even half way there.