The Native North Carolinian

That’s what my sleepy little own has done. I’ve told yo we have our own Wal-mart now, and tey are building a movie theatre and bowling alley. And we have enough restaurants now to eat out every night for a month and not have to repeat ourselves. I’m enjoying the extra shopping and the not needing a cell phone repeater, but I tell you –I have some complaints, too. The traffic is backed up almost all the time, and people are so rude now! And so close! And they talk all funny, and look at me as if *I* am the strange one. Are we absolutely sure that I have to take one to get the other?

Did you know that North Carolina is home to some incredibly talented furniture makers? I’m not talking about this modern furniture made of plastic and steel. Yeah, the shapes are intriguing, but in my mind, modern has nothing on classic. Give me wood furniture, lovingly crafted with old technique, just like you find in High Point and I’m a happy girl.

You know what else gets a work out in this heat? Our kitchen faucets. From making ice to drinking water, it seems the sink spends more time running than not. Now, I happen to be one of those weirdos who dislikes water. I just can’t help it! But even I find myself thinking of drinking more than my required two glasses these days.

I declare, one almost needs to be a fish to breathe here in the middle of the day, lately! So muggy! Add a little seaweed wrap, some massage therapy and an overpriced facial, and the whole eastern seaboard could be a spa!

Of course, it is kinda finny to think that people actually pay good money to sweat like a pig and breath hot wet air, when you can do it for free just by walking around the block.

We had reason to travel across the state this week, my mother, two of my girls and I, and I realized that I had not taught my kids nearly enough about North Carolina geography. We ended our trip near the foothills, and neither of them realized that there were mountains here. I took a few minutes to explain the coastal, plains and mountain regions of the state, but it’s clear I need to dig out a map, ykwim? Or go road tripping. Do you need travel insurance when you do that practically at home?

Well, imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to find that it was sunny after all. I did get a camera card cleared like I said i was going to, but it’s too bright for outdoor shots just now. We’ll see how it is this evening. It’s not like medical diagnostics, at least when things have to be done at an exact time. I am giving myself the entire week as my window, but come next weekend, I want to be printing pictures.

So, since I know that it’s supposed to be greyish tomorrow, I have cleared a camera card to take portraits of the kiddos. This way, they won’t need to squint there eyes, but I can have good natural light for the shots. I imagine I will hang some blankets over the fence for backdrops, and maybe even use baby bedding for the younger ones. Look out walls, here come new pictures!

Man, it poured down last night. And it poured down this morning. And then it poured down again. And did I mention we were camping this weekend? At least the tent didn’t leak!!! I’m glad of the rain, since we’ve been dealing with drought for a couple of years now. It’s as if the clouds have been taking Phentermine instead of sucking up the moisture to make rain.

The downside is that the tents are still up, because we can’t pack them away wet!

a very hot place that I really shouldn’t name on my blog. Man, is it ever HOT! When my friend Jules talked about how hot it was in Vegas a couple months ago and it was still pretty cool here, it sounded kinda nice. Nice enough to warrant looking into Laughlin hotels, provided I had the means and time to travel. Now, however, I’m just a sullen searing slug stuck in the sizzling south. It’s hot ya’ll. Its August hot in June. This could be bad. Just sayin’

You know, when I was growing up, everyone had lawn furniture. Mostly, we just called them yard chairs, being red neck and all, but I clearly remember my grandparents’ having metal chairs in their yard. They weren’t rockers precisely, but the frame allowed the chairs to bounce a bit, and so it was almost like rocking. Of course, you now see teak furniture a lot more often than the kind I remember so fondly, but I’d sure like to have one of those metal ones, just for old times sake.