Those pesky critters love it when I fire the grill up on the back porch. It's usually a Sunday thing after payday when I have some bucks to buy good eats. I splurged on shrimp and grilled it in a basket after marinating with olive oil, butter and a whole bunch of spices. Hell yeah, that's all I'm saying. Me and my lunch buddies have gotten tired of paying the high prices for cafeteria food so we swap up bringing leftovers to share. I doubt there'll be any shrimp to share....maybe some chicken or cheddar dogs.

This past week or so has been a lot to process for an old tired gal. There are issues with family and the day job that are on my mind a lot. I have caught myself running way past empty just to try to keep the boat floatin' and we've still got a pretty dang big leak on most fronts. That's where friends come into the picture and thanks to Big Ernie, I've got more than I deserve. Just when I think I can't stand it anymore, one of 'em calls or send an email or a card and it's all okay because I know somebody's thinking about me fondly. That means a lot.

It's the dog days and all that. Around this time of the year is when I become a radar map junkie looking for the next invisible cool front, imagining that sucker trying to make its' way down from Canada or Siberia or somewhere with icicles. Ya'll probably don't know this, but I hate to sweat. And I more than hate snakes...no ifs ands or buts about it. I'm sure they're nice and have mamas and stuff but they creep me out.

Todays if-it-bleeds-it-leads story in the great state of TN is about a Sunday morning shotgun shooting at a church in East Tennessee. I've become immune to the main stream media during the past few years, choosing instead to focus my relaxation time on things that make me feel happy and/or stretch my imagination. My brother and sis-in-law have taught me that about the news business from their career changes that moved 'em from dark to light.

"It's not the heat, it's the humidity." That's a common phrase around the South during the months of July and August. When the rain that the crops need so depsperately comes in the form of summer thunderstorms, it saturates the atmosphere enough so you can work up a good sweat just by walking to the car. Forget makeup and hair until at least the middle of September. Today was cloudy so I went out to do the yard mowing so as to avoid a heat stroke later this week. I think it happened anyways.

A big old birthday shoutout to all my Leo friends who are having birthdays. Seems as if it's a popular sign with my Virgo personality. Freud would probably say it's my ego seeking her inner showoff side. Yaya's was Friday with several others waiting in line. Once you pass 50, it's all downhill.

^j^