absolutely marvelous

Very nice Fall weather....clear and blue with just a little breeze, cool and crisp....just right for walking.....I'm watching Ken Burns National Parks this week in the evening.....kinda makes you want to go camping, but, on the other hand....what's wrong with the nature in my own backyard? I do have to check out going up into the mountains from here sometime.....over the last two weeks, I've spent over $50 at BI-LO, so I get 5 cents a gallon off at the Shell station next to the shopping center....such a deal! Just swipe your card and watch the pump price go down.....haven't tried that yet.....I did get dental floss, shaving gel, bags of apples two for one, sweet onion, a russet potato, sirloin tips, orange juice, Stouffer's mac and cheese two for one, and a few other things, including a whole slab of baby back ribs for $9.54.....the Squealing Square thing is coming up this weekend, but I found it sort of expensive last year....so I'm going to just do my own ribs for a BBQ fix.....I'll probably go over there and look around Saturday.....this is the last of September?

twenty degrees cooler

Down from 68 yesterday to 46 this morning.....the denim shorts and sandals are replaced by blue jeans and boots for the morning walk.....I need to do laundry and vacuum .....the Raid ant traps sure took care of that problem.....don't see one ant anywhere, even on the outside trash can.....

outer space bass

they sure are playing the re-mastered Beatles a lot.....which is cool, because some of the songs do sound better, I think.....they used to have to turn down the bass in the old days when they mixed a record, because the deep grooves that carried the low frequencies on a wax recording could make the needle jump up in the air and skip.....so now they can put the bass guitar up front in the mix more, since we moderns don't have to worry about that particular little quirk anymore....also on the Beatles.....I just read that Lucy in the Sky passed away, at age 46......

Fall has fell?

68, breezy, leaves blowing around....mowed the back lawn because it was plenty cool enough for that kind of thing.....when the wind blows, all these sticks fall out of the pecan trees, so you have to pick them up before you can run the mower....but you can just take them out to the curb, and the city comes along and picks them up...I think they pick them up on Tuesday on my street....I should get more organized about picking up the pecans this year, at least get a rake and a basket, or something......

PBS

I hope everyone is watching the series on the National Parks that Ken Burns is doing on public television.....

it's trying to burn off

but more clouds keep coming down from the north-west....off the mountains more or less.....the Hose lost again.....Furman won that underwater game......Clemson lost again....I went to the store for more bread, and also got Hot and Spicy V8, generic mayo substitute, and ant traps. I'm in an ant war, looks like. These things that say they get the queen have worked for me in the past....the ants at the Resort were notorious.....these seem to be the grease ants, not the sugar ants....I got a one dollar avocado the other day, and had ham-avo-egg scramble on toast for breakfast....this avocado is better than the last one I tried....I've got rye bread, deli ham, swiss cheese, and sauerkraut....that makes a pretty good sandwich.....I think that might be a Rachel, if it's a Ruben with corned beef? But today will be ham and avocado, since kraut keeps better than avocado....life is so complicated, la-de-da-de-da (Kinks).....

pretty strange

Furman is on TV right now playing Western Carolina....they started an hour late because of the weather, but are now under way.....but the fans all are smarter than the football players, because they all went home....or to some place warm and dry anyway....it looks like something from the Twilight Zone....scary.....and they say a bank of fog is coming down the mountain, to add to the rain for sheer perversity......I think the whole state of W. Carolina must be in the Twilight Zone anyway, I can't find it on any map.....I think maybe I'll try to find something else to watch, this is just too bizarre......there's a big glop of rain on the radar that's just about to reach Clinton too.....but they are calling for a clear Sunday......

in the morning

it was 62 on my walk, with a north wind and some moments of blowing mist....some cars had their windshield wipers on.....raining and windy right now, 85 percent chance of rain for the day....when I went to fix breakfast, there were ants in the kitchen....they were not in the food, just in the trash and in the sink drain.....so now I should go mop up dead ants, and the kitchen floor in general....once again, Clinton won, and Laurens lost. In one high school game they stopped play in the third quarter for lightning, and after an hour made the result official. In another game, they quit at half-time I guess and are going to try to play the second half today. I didn't drive anywhere yesterday, can't think of anywhere I need to drive today either.....Furman is on TV today, PC goes to The Citadel .......the Clemson game is not telecast.....this might be good weather for chili.....

friday night

Getting close to my bedtime, it's raining steady, but no thunder right here....I guess the high school football games are getting wet tonight, some of them anyway.....I had banger and mash for dinner, with kraut.....IFC is starting the old Prisoner shows from 1967 again.....I think I've seen them all .....I suppose you can buy the whole thing on DVD somewhere.....I wonder if anybody ever shows The Man from UNCLE? Maybe Hollywood will make the movie, they do that with plenty of other old bizarre stuff....how about Dobie Gillis, the Movie....anyway, bedtime.

got a good night's sleep

after staying up later than usual, watching the football game from down the road in Columbia....they had 74,000 people there for the Gamecocks beating Ole'Miss.....I saw the end of the Chargers game last Sunday, and they said there were 66,000 there for that.....college football really is big business, I guess. Sunny and mostly clear here this morning, humid.....next week is predicted to be "Fall-like".....going to be cooling off, I guess they mean.....

sunny, humid

Expected high around 86 in the afternoon.....I went to the library....they are trying to find the money to build a Clinton branch of the library, right now it's in a storefront next to Fred's Discount.....and they are looking for money to finish the new high school.....they passed a $48 million bond issue a few years ago for that, but the school is still a year away from being finished, and the money has run out? There was smokehouse ham at the deli counter yesterday, half-price, so I have lunch meat for a while....and cheese was two for one, so I have both swiss and New York Sharp for ham and cheese on rye.....for dinner I have asparagus and a four oz. piece of strip steak....portion control is the key.....mushrooms were not on special this time, so I'll cook the steak with onion instead......

cloudy, breezy, was some drizzle

about 74 right now.....how about that new theme park in Atlanta, Six Flags Under Water....take a deep breath and hold your nose when you swoop down to the lower parts on the roller coaster.....and out West, Moorpark is burning? Always something.....they are going to put an exhibit in the city building about the history of the mill and the mill village.....you can donate items if you have something interesting from the era.....Ralph Nader is coming to speak at PC....I went grocery shopping.....I pretty much only bought things that were on sale....plenty of food in the house for a while, I think......

rainy night in Georgia

I watched a streaming video on CNN.com of the floods around Atlanta.....pretty scary....what's worse, a flood or a wildfire? Today in Clinton they are saying only 25 percent chance of rain.....clouded over right now, I think I'll go walk over by the mill while it's cool ......

to the north and west

where the tropical moisture is hitting the mountains, they've had 10 inches of rain in the last three days, something like that.....hasn't been raining right here, not much anyway.....they had 20 inches around Atlanta, and roads have washed out, etc....didn't do much today...well, I trimmed up out front, with the weedeater and the lawnmower, while it was still cool and foggy in the morning....looks better.....even though it stayed overcast all day, it's sultry......maybe that's because it stayed overcast all day......

you may need to move to higher ground

well, that's on ch.13, which is from Asheville.....one river near Hendersonville is over flood stage....and it's going to keep raining Monday and Tuesday....Tuesday is when Fall begins....not raining here right now.....I ate plenty earlier in the day, so I just had a sandwich instead of fixing any dinner.....Panthers lost.....the Hose lost too yesterday.....#21 Occidental lost also, to #14 Linfield....never heard of that place before....Oxy opens conference play next week.....that's weather, food, and sports, folks!

Ora Homecoming

I just got back from the Ora ARP Homecoming, which was very enjoyable....just a regular Sunday service, and then lots of people and the usual tons of food in the community hall, overflowing into the fellowship room above.....at lunch I was sitting with A.Y. Bryson's son and daughter, and his widow....she remembered W.B. of course....and some Hunters were at that table, and Flemings and Blakeleys and others.....it was interesting.....it was raining outside during the lunch.....they had old scrapbooks with articles from the Advertiser about births, weddings, etc....found quite a bit about the family in there.....Dave's birth notice, a Mamie and Wylie wedding article, things like that......they were giving out copies of the church cookbook, the same one......anyway, it was fun....

utter failure

It sounded simple enough....sit down and watch the Clemson game....well, that didn't happen....they stopped play because lightning was within five miles of the stadium....they sounded a siren and everyone went under cover, or whatever.....the people with the tubas were still sitting in the stands, and they were brass tubas it looked like, not the plastic kind like in the Rose Parade....I wouldn't want to have yards of brass wrapped around me in a lightning situation, I don't think.....anyway, about an hour later they started up again, and played a few plays, and then stopped again.....and the TV station finally gave up and started showing some other game....it was a wierd game anyway....Clemson did win, but there only ever two touchdowns, half a dozen interceptions and fumbles, and a dozen or something field goals....all in all, a croak......but I did finally finish off the enchilada pie, and watch an episode of Top Gear I hadn't seen before....

Saturday sports section

reveals that Clinton won, and Laurens lost again.....and reminds us that Clemson plays Boston College at noon on ch. 13. So I'll go to the store in the morning, for bread, olive oil, orange juice....and maybe popcorn to eat while watching football....it should be a nice overcast-raining afternoon, perfect for football on TV......I bought some Puritan khakis at Walmart yesterday....10 bucks.....always the low price.....should work OK with the blue blazer and my one decent dress shirt, to go to the Ora ARP thing Sunday morning. A blazer is called a blazer because the captain of H.M.S. Blazer designed it and outfitted his crew with them in 1837, because Queen Victoria was coming to inspect his ship. She liked them so much she said the whole navy should wear them, hence navy blue blazers are regarded as being spiffy to this very day.....amazing what you can find out online, ain't it?

lots of rain

I think it rained all night....it was raining when I got up, and on through breakfast....I took my walk to get the paper about half an hour later that usual, waiting for it to let up. An walk in the nice fresh air right after the rain is enjoyable. I noticed that Coos Bay, Oakland, Goleta, and Escondido all have U.S. Weather Service excessive heat warnings in effect on into next week....well, for any inland areas mostly....here the temps are running below normal for this time of year I think....it's good weather to open up the house .....

just got back

from a nice walk over by the old mill.....cool, overcast morning with a little breeze, good for walking.....the steak last night was good...it's a kind that the store has seasoned....it said it was "Montreal seasoning"....the way they cook sirloin in Canada? I put some grilled onion on it too.....the Vidalia sweet onion they sell a lot around here.....it rained during the night, and I got a good night's sleep.....rain predicted for the next four or five days I think.....I got more of those N.C. ginger apples yesterday, tasty little green apples....good in cooking too...

they had olive oil on sale

the kind I like, but when I was in the store I forgot to get it....I got apples, and generic citrus mouthwash, and some sirloin that was marked down.....and AA batteries because my kitchen clock kept telling the wrong time....and something else, I forget what...it was drizzling when I went out shopping....there was a real light drizzle on my walk this morning too....last night I microwaved some of the enchilada pie...it's even better reheated, I think....tonight I'm going to have a bit of that sirloin, a sweet potato, and some peas....In the book I'm reading, the guy says that every work of art is an act of forgiveness....are we forgiving the awfulness of being thrown into this mess by creating some beauty? Don't know what he meant....maybe something like that.

rain

getting a pretty good soak, looks like more is on the way later this evening....

cleaning binge

I did go on a cleaning binge, armed with a spray bottle of generic citrus cleanser....it's cheap, and it works, and it smells fruity, not chemical. I can't stand the smell of Pine-Sol, which some people use....I think that's because once I ate at this place that smelled heavily of Pine-Sol, and whatever I ate gave me some terrible indigestion, so I was up all night running to the toilet....ever since then Pine-Sol makes me sick....also, it reminds me of elementary school....anyway, I scrubbed down and swept and mopped the bathroom and kitchen, and the woodwork through the house with handprints on it....and ran the vacuum on the carpet....and I even tried rubbing mink oil on the leather top of the coffee table, but I don't know if that accomplished much....and then I ate an apple, and later ate a cold chicken wing, a piece of bread and butter with black pepper, a small piece of swiss cheese, and a glass of wine for lunch. I read this thing once that said that the proper amount of cheese to have in a day was a piece the size of a matchbox.....I'm guessing a small match box, not a kitchen match box....the piece I had with lunch was about the size of half a small matchbox.....

lots of food for sure

I got out to Ora early, so I visited the grave yard for a bit ......and later I went in and introduced myself, and met some of the community people....the names of the people were mostly the same as the names on the tombstones....I guess you could call that staying close to your roots.....there was a heck of a lot of food....I sold about half of the enchilada pie....got two compliments on the pie, and one on the bowl....one of those black and white kind, that look like they are native american or mexican or something....I think Brian has the coffee cups from that set? Let's see....I had meatballs, yams, green beans, that corn souffle stuff, enchilada pie, a spoon each of mac and cheese and scalloped potatoes, deviled egg, and probably some other hot dish I'm forgetting.....and some lime pie, and brownies, something with blueberries, candy corn, etc... from the dessert table. There was iced tea. Overcast here this morning, 20 percent chance of rain is what they are saying.....I need to clean house some, esp. the bathroom and kitchen.....looks like I'll be having enchilada pie for dinner.....

in the oven

is enchilada pie, a.k.a. New Mexico enchilada....it will be my contribution to the potluck at the Ora Community Club meeting tonight....it's the second Monday each month....it looks OK, we'll see how it comes out....I bought ground beef to put in that, and some of that is leftover...enough to make a patty melt for lunch I think....will probably encounter all kinds of food at the potluck, that's what cousin Cindy says anyway.....on the weather front, a high from the NE is fighting with a low from the SW, and the low should win by Tuesday, so we might get some rain....today pretty much like yesterday, mild, high clouds.....

lazing on a Sunday afternoon

The Panthers were getting beat, so I turned it off and took a nap....and later went to McD's and got a McDouble and sweet tea for $2.18....the large sweet tea amounts to like a whole pitcher I think....that's what I was really after, I was thirsty....plus enough sugar for a week.....it's up around 80 outside I think, but it's cool inside still.....

hose unraveled....

The Blue Hose had their home opener yesterday, and got their socks knocked off by Elon, which is some place I'd never heard of, but which is 10th ranked in the nation in whatever division of the NCAA they play in.....it was 41-7. The coach said it was a good learning experience for his young team.....the Hose have a real nice looking stadium....I don't think I've ever seen a brick fieldhouse anywhere else.....nice here again this morning, 64 around nine o'clock, breezy, mostly clear.....had bacon and french toast for breakfast....well, it was hog jowl, but it looks like bacon....but it's more gnarly, sorta....

this was tasty...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjtingle/3912856735/ on a bread board, work seasoned bread crumbs into cube steak with finger tips, fork whip egg and tawny port on a saucer, and dip meat on both sides....place in iron frying pan with hot olive oil, add fresh sliced mushrooms and early peas, cook until done....fork tender and delicious!

oh yeh, I forgot....

public alligator hunting season opens today....

mowing done

I went out because it was staying cool and knocked down the back yard.....now nothing much to do for the rest of the day I can think of.....

the 12th

Clinton beat Laurens with a catch and run with 18 seconds left on the clock.....nice looking morning, they say it will get pretty warm by the afternoon.....cold chicken and a salad for dinner yesterday.....I could have chicken-fried steak for dinner again tonight, or maybe beans on toast. That's actually a British breakfast, but I have it for dinner sometimes....ever try beans on toast? It's quick and easy, and you get some fiber.....

70 degrees

mostly sunny....Clemson messed up that game, and lost by a field-goal....and dumb plays.....I thought about the lawn again this morning, but didn't work up the energy to deal with it....the weeds can wait.....I'm reading a book that takes place in Bombay....I just finished one that took place towards the end of the Roman Republic, it was pretty good....Laurens plays Clinton tonight....the paper said to expect heavy traffic if you were thinking of going to watch....I remember going to see a football game in Laurens when I was five or six years old.....I think it was Ford School playing Laurens High? That would have been around 1953 or something....I remember it was cold, and I had to stay standing to see anything.....

on the evening news

they said it was as cool as the middle of October....well, it's good sleeping weather, I think....and there's a Clemson game coming on, so maybe I can stay awake long enough to fall asleep....

wait a minute

the blogs and things are getting mixed up....fried catfish with cheesy grits and green beans just showed up on Coast to Coast, and there is pizza BBQ on the e-mail from Dave....

maybe I can go for a walk

the rain has let up I guess....I was driving around some and the sign at Whiteford's Giant Burger this week says 8 piece liver snack for 2.99, or a steak biscuit for .99. Do you get some slaw with the chicken livers? Probably not. Is that a chicken-fried steak biscuit? Too many questions in life....I've never actually had a giant burger, though I saw some people eating them, and they did look pretty giant....the people and the burgers....

it's raining

but I got back from my walk before it started....guess I don't have to mess with the lawnmower today.....it said that the storm last night blew down two trees in Clinton.....not my trees, luckily.....

missed us

the big storm went south-east, and mostly missed this county, but there were lots of trees down and something like 4000 power outages around Spartanburg....

clicked on the weather

and another severe thunderstorm warning, like last night....on the radar, this one looks bigger.....I also wanted to mention that the Clinton Chronicle had some interesting BBQ recipes this week.....the maple sauce ribs might be something to try sometime....

Wednesday dinner

was wings and a salad...I think Thursday will be chicken fried steak with mushrooms and gravy, and early peas.....didn't get too hot today at all.....ran the vacuum, and did a small load of laundry....

foggy, cool, damp from the rain

I need to go to the store and get bread, butter, eggs, orange juice.....and maybe chicken, or something for a few meals....and some cash, my wallet is empty....and the Clinton newspaper comes out today too, might as well get one of those....

weather!

heck of a thunderstorm rolling through right now....

post holiday

Went to the library and only found a couple of things, but they are thick, so maybe they'll last awhile....seems warmer today to me, but with the lesser humidity, not uncomfortable.....I'm planning on getting a whole house humidifier for the Winter, I read that can help lower your heating bill....and I kept getting a scratchy throat last year with the dry heated air in the house.....I've still got some leftovers for dinner, and then Wednesday is shopping day again.....

seven dwarf galaxies

Circling around the Milky Way are between 20 and 25 known satellite dwarf galaxies, which are smaller clumps of stars bound in orbit around the Milky Way by gravitational attraction.
Some pessimists predicted the Milky Way was doomed to a grizzly death by dismemberment if enough of these galaxies collide with it. In fact, scientists think many satellite galaxies have already rammed into the Milky Way, though so far it has endured.
Damn dwarf galaxies are prowling around going "Hi ho hi ho, off to work we go!" And on Labor Day Weekend.....they want to destroy us, I'm sure.....as if we don't have enough to worry about.....

Labor Day

Walked over to the Curb Market and got a dollar's worth of smoked pork jowls, skin on....it's sliced up like bacon...I'll use it to flavor beans later on.....72 degrees outside, broken clouds, windy.....the town looks empty this morning, even more so than usual....the guy at the market said more people would be out after they woke up and sobered up some....I'm sure he knows the locals better than I do, his family has had that market for ages.....have a safe and sane holiday, all....Dave said he was going to fix pizza on his gas grill? Well, young Stephen will be there, and he's a professional cook, so I'm sure it will work out.....

mild, a few clouds

Went for a walk and took some pix....see my photos if you like for that....PC got stomped by Furman....Clemson won....can't think what I want for lunch....had some grapes for a mid-morning snack.....I've got left-overs for dinner I'm sure.....very quiet Sunday morning, not many cars across the street at the church, everybody go out of town for the weekend?

feel better after some lunch....

I felt all dragged out this morning, don't know why....slept through the night pretty much....anyway, fixed a fried fish fillet and pimento cheese sandwich, and feel better now....I've got some of that Boston Butt in the slow cooker, covered with Luck's spiced fried apples....going to have lima beans with that, for a meat and two supper, before the 5 o'clock kickoff of PC vs. Furman, which is on Ch.40.....Clemson starts at 6, but I want to watch PC, since I think it's going to be the only game of theirs on TV this year....another nice day here, not too hot at all.....should be good for all the tailgate parties.....just don't drink and drive.....

Labor Day Weekend?

There is an Upstate Fair starting this weekend I guess....we went to the L.A. County Fair once around Labor Day, and just about melted, as I recall....looks like nice weather for this one though....mid-70's right now, some clouds....but I won't go and try to find the Fair, just stay home as usual....I put olive oil on grain and granola bread and made a swiss cheese and pimento spread grilled half sandwich for lunch, with a kosher pickle spear and a glass of mountain burgandy....My Guitar Player magazine came in the mail this morning, so I have something extra to read, besides my library books....they are due Tuesday, because Monday is a holiday.....the Gamecocks won that game last night, which at least kept me awake for awhile, so I could sleep better....does that make sense? Seems to be how it works, though.....

the Port and cheese

after dinner, the ladies withdraw to the drawing room, to gossip, and the gentlemen to the study, for Port and cheese and cigars....and some moments away from the ladies....well, forget the cigars, but I still like the port and cheese after dinner....port and marsala and sherry, and vermouth too, etc...these are fortified wines.....wines to which brandy is added, because if you don't up the ethanol in the wine then it might "turn" during a long bumpy voyage in a sailing ship in the old days....so you end up with a cargo you can't get a good price for.....after they found the New World and starting getting chocolate, then you could have port and cheese and chocolate....you might want some walnuts with all that too......

yes

the white corn is very good....had some with dinner yesterday....walked over by the mill again this fine morning....got a thing in the mail to renew my AAA card, so I did that online. That was all that came in the mail today.....Tonight is the Gamecocks football opener, so people are wearing the colors looks like.....comes on at seven, will give me something to watch, other than old westerns on Encore.....

senior grocery day

Blue sky and a north wind.....sunny yet cool.....they had grapes 99 cents per lb., and good looking white corn 5 for a dollar.....the stuff is out for Labor Day BBQ I guess.....my Weber kettle has never made it out of the shed....I haven't been organized enough to get charcoal and lighter fluid and figure out where a good place to BBQ would be....I don't have a deck like at the Resort....some neighbors just grill on the front porch....there are some houses on Oakland St. not far away that have brick screen porches with built in BBQs.....I guess in pre-AC days that was a really good idea for the hot months, like the outdoor kitchens behind some farm houses....

took another walk

before lunch...took the camera and went over by the mill....http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjtingle/page1/

poached egg

The poached egg came out just about perfect this morning....not really runny yolked, but not overdone either....it depends on how deep the water is, I guess. And I guess from the news that SoCal, with fires to the north and a hurricane to the south is between hell and high-water? Sounds about right.....here it is basically Fall weather early, before Labor Day....I'm sure it will get hot again though.....