Happy New Year... 2011!!

I must not be much of a blogger, because I keep forgetting I even *have* this blog!! but here's to a Happy New Year, hopefully full of all sorts of new 'happenins!

Our New Year celebration was relatively quiet but fun... my two younger kids and I stayed home, watched tv, and waited for midnight... we brought in the new year with cheese logs and crackers, Welches sparkling grape in a champagne bottle, and party poppers that exploded and shot streamers everywhere!

After much whooping, yaying, clinking glasses and dancing around, we went to bed :)

the Darcy Dilemma...

There is a real danger in reading/watching Pride and Prejudice... **sighs**.

Any red blooded woman who has read Jane Austin's works knows exactly what I'm talking about.

What few men I meet always turn out to be Wickhams... and the rare Darcy I meet has already met his Lizzy. What a shame... I'd make a very fine Lizzy if I ever met an available Darcy.

Compounding the dilemma... I'm not young anymore. Arriving at my mid-40's, twice married already, with a 3rd fruitless relationship... my darling daughter tells me I still have reason to hope.. lol... what a dear child.

I do have some points going for me... I'm not exceptionally good looking so get passed over very often.. but once you notice me, I am rather attractive :) I'm spunky, love to laugh, and am not afraid to face down my "superiors" if I feel I'm being insulted or misused. I'm very loving, and quite romantic. So... if I should be so fortunate to meet my Mr. Darcy, even in the fall of my years, I'm sure he'd fall madly and hopelessly in love with me :) so there. lol!

Another big difference....

Ok, this post is likely to be a wee bit gruesome, so feel free to skip if you like.. lol

Another big difference between California and Alabama.. is the road kill.

In California...most commonly flattened are squirrels, skunks, coyotes, and unfortunately, cats and the occasional dog.

In Alabama... you still have squirrels, the rare skunk... but now add 'possums.. which definitely outrank the number of anything else flattened... *armadillos* ('bamans are not too happy about these residents of Texas traveling so far east) and turtles.

Avoiding possums is not hard.. I've seen a few try to cross the street at night when I'm driving... no, didn't have to swerve dangerously to miss them... they are SLOOOOOOOOOOW. They waddle like a 9-month pregnant woman. (I can say that, having been there 3 times myself). I can only conclude that the ones that got hit were either hit intentionally, or someone was fiddling with their radio or cell phone instead of watching the road. Because they are VERY easy to miss.

I haven't personally seen any skunks.. but I've smelled them, so I know they're out here.

Armadillos on the other hand.. the only ones I've seen near a road were dead on the half shell. They make some very interesting road kill. The only live 'dillos I've seen were in the woods on an island in the middle of a lake. They're actually pretty cute when they're not squished. I like their faces.. kind of like a mouse but longer snouted with cute little ears. I'm not fooled by cute faces though, I also notice their loooong razor sharp claws that they bulldoze through the earth with, looking for tasty worms and grubs. Claws that could easily remove parts of my flesh if I get too close. The same claws that make homeowners boiling mad when they come out in the morning and find their yard full of deep holes in inappropriate places.. like flower beds or the middle of the lawn.

But the poor turtles... they move slow, yes.. but you don't realize it's a turtle until you're almost on top of it. If it's lucky, it's a low slung turtle and you have a high sitting undercarriage... because turtles, for all their reputation of being slow, are actually pretty darn fast. Not as fast as a rabbit, mind you... but definitely faster than a snail. Or a possum. I have a tendency to pull my car over, pick up the turtle (both hands, these are big guys) and carry it the rest of the way across the road. Ok, so I've got a soft heart. lol They seem to enjoy traveling from pond to pond, the problem being most ponds are across the street from each other.

We live right next to a lake (we call it a lake, but it's really just a very big pond), and so see turtles heading to and from it fairly often. One decided to take a short cut through my dog yard... the dogs were inside, but they sure let me know someone was in their yard. I watched it cross the yard at record break-neck speed, but then it had trouble figuring out how to get under the fence on the other side (my "fence" is just plastic gardening mesh). So of course I went out there and lifted him over. I thought I saw flames issuing from under his back end as he zipped off towards the lake at full speed.

Ok, speaking of backyard trespassers, I have to mention the screwy squirrel. I was just letting the dogs out, and before I could stop them from running out the door, saw a squirrel by the fence. He was on the outside closest to the house, but it was apparent that he had crawled under the mesh.. his tail was still under the plank holding the mesh down in that spot. Yes, his tail was under the plank. I have never seen a squirrel yanking so hard in my life trying to extract a tail from under a plank. After about 3 good tugs, he got it loose.. at which point the poor panicked creature tried running back the way he had come... but uhm.. there was this mesh fence in the way. After bouncing off the plastic mesh several times, he finally jumped high enough to jump over the fence. Remember he was on the OUTSIDE of the fence, right? That means he just jumped INTO the yard WITH THE DOGS. At this point *I* panic. I have no idea what my dogs are going to do to this poor, obviously young and stupid, squirrel. Fortunately it managed to run faster than my dogs... but I was sure I was going to see a repeat of the boinging off the plastic mesh scene again. But no, this little squirrel had himself a tunnel through the long grass and under the fence to dive into. It was a little gray blur as he highlighted for the old oak trees on the lot next door. *phew*.

Things that fly...

I look out my window in the morning, and there perched on the end of my car antennae, is a dragonfly. I step outside, and a whole squadron of dragonflies are patrolling my back yard.. flying around my head, landing on the fence posts of my dog yard. Bright greens, reds, with sheer wings, some with bold black stripes. They hover, they zip, they land on a plant and sit really still.

I wish they'd eat more "love bugs". It's love bug season again.. once a year, we are over run with swarms of love bugs. On windshields, on grills, in your mouth if you're not careful. In your food. They look like a push-me-pull-you (for those of you familiar with the *original* Dr. Doolittle) Little black bodies, little black wings, bright red thorax, end to end, copulating as they fly, land, eat, etc etc etc. Everywhere. Fortunately, love bug copulation season lasts for only a few weeks. Then you're free again to open your mouth when you talk and you can refill your windshield cleaner reservoir.

But my favorite... are the butterflies. I have never seen so many butterflies of all varieties. Lizzy had brought home chrysalis that she would find on her way home from the bus stop, we'd put them in a container, and wait to see what comes out. So beautiful! Not long ago, we went to a birthday party at the lake, and all along the shore were yellow butterflies, sitting on the damp earth, drinking and resting. I've seen huge (and I mean huge) black butterflies with gold and red markings. And monarchs. And a host of others. Never saw butterflies in Calif the way I see them in my own backyard out here. Although there was once at the Los Angeles zoo... they had a special butterfly exhibit come through, that was great. But it wasn't in my backyard.

Then there's the grasshoppers that look like butterflies when they "jump". There's MANY of those in my backyard. Greens, tans, browns, spotted, yellow... teeny tiny and HUGE. I'm willing to bet that's why I have 2 or three toads living in my yard as well... so much yummy to eat :) I just set a toad loose that I was keeping in my house a few days. He was so cute! I caught grasshoppers for him to eat, which he did so very happily. When I set him loose this morning, he chirped at me. He stayed still when I set him down, so I petted his back.. and he chirped at me again. I shut the door, had some coffee, then checked again... and he was gone. But I'm sure he hasn't gone far, I'll no doubt see him again hopping under my porch or through the grass.

Southern' Livin'

As I mention in my profile, 2 of my kids and I moved out here to 'Bama back in '06... I was warned by all my friends and family that I'm going to experience "culture shock". Well, I must have taken it in better stride than expected, because there's been very little "shock" since I came out here.

I expected it to be "country", slow paced, and considerably greener than southern California. I suppose the biggest difference is in the colloquialisms... we all know they say "y'all" in the south. But do you know what the possessive plural of "y'all" is??

Keep in mind that I've worked in professional corporations in California... I'll never forget the day I was standing next to the manager over my department at work, when I was very new there, and heard her talking on the phone to some customers... asking "did you get this item in y'alls'es order?" I think my jaw about hit the floor.

Here's some other nifty words... fly swatter: fly flapper, going to: fixin'ta, alright: 'ight, and then there's Redneck caviar: oysters on the half shell. VERY popular around here. yuck. Fireworks are big year round, there's a fireworks store in just about every town. Just about everyone has a fire-pit for burning leaves and other garden debris. Of course fishing and hunting are REALLY big out here for all ages.

I'll admit to being very spoiled from Calif in some regards... for example, the banks are very "behind the times". I used to be able to deposit my paycheck in the ATM, stop on the way home to get gas, get home and go online to check my bank account, and see both my deposit and my withdrawal already. Out here.. you either use the drop box which could take up to a week to process, or you get to the bank before it closes and deposit it personally. It could take days for bank card transactions to go through, and the online banking is updated just once a day, at 7pm. Yikes.

If I really need a big city fix... I can head out to Enterprise or Dothan. Dothan is almost like a little slice of Los Angeles, complete with upscale shopping, heavy traffic, and bad neighborhoods.

I suppose the biggest culture shock would be the undercurrent of prejudice still out here. Yeah, there's some no matter where you go... but it's worse out here than on the West Coast. I can't remember anyone using the "N word" since I was a kid, but out here I've heard it a few times. Especially the older folks.. the "good ol' boys", as they're called. The younger black folk out here are about color too, it seems. I've heard both "sides" use the words "their kind" and "our kind". Where I work, there's a good mix.. and everyone seems to get along great.

I get asked occasionally if I miss California.. and I have always honestly answered NO. I miss my family, I miss some beautiful places like Lake Arrowhead and Yosemite, and San Francisco.. but no, I don't miss living in California, and I don't have any plans to move back. I love being out in the country, I love the way everyone knows everyone. And there's so much more to explore yet :)

sumthin new to do...

ok, so here is sumthin new to do... blogging. Well, new to me, anyways ;) time to take the plunge? Maybe it will be fun!