Author: boomingbanter

While Aaron and I were having fun in the South poor Dad was busy at home.

You may recall I took to tidying the garage as soon as I retired.

This had implications for poor Krishna.

He is a man who likes to keep things and I am the complete opposite I cannot stand piles of papers. Although, secretly, I have to say Krishna’s mammoth paper collection has come in very handy especially at tax time!

Anyway when the garage mania hit me I put all his papers in one massive pile and asked him “kindly” to get rid of them.

Well he got busy while we were gone and made inroads into the paper stack burning out two shredders in the process. This gives you some sense of the proportion of this collection!

The outcome of this burn out was that a trip to Walmart had to happen. A new shredder wa a must as the stack is still standing.

As today was a washout and the pool was not possible we made the trip to Walmart.

While Krishna was studying each shredder in great detail I made a beeline for the garden center and what a fabulous find I made.

A fine perennial beauty reduced to only $3.50 that is both rabbit and deer resistant! Just what I needed and  best of all it is called BEE BALM.

Isn’t that a great name?

Bit of research revealed this is of the botanical family Monarda and is a type of horsemint also sometimes called bergamot because of its great aroma. The Bee Balm attracts as you’d expect bees and also butterflies and humming birds.

The plant is now snuggled into the good wet earth beside a friendly well established mint plant and with all the rain in the forecast over the next week the baby should get a good start.

Hopefully it can be used at Thanksgiving, as it was by native Americans, as a seasoning for (wild) turkey.

So today’s life lesson; while one shreds paper the other plants food for the bees.

There must be a circle of life in there somewhere.

Blessing # 47 – Unexpected gifts

 

Yesterday was the bright green of the big bug today is the blue of the corn flower.

These beauties are growing wild all along the roadsides in Ohio right now and seem to thrive in the hot sun.

This is the color that spells summer for me just as yellows of daffodils mean spring, warm rusts spell autumn and dark greens of pine spell winter.

Indeed as Louis Armstrong sang a wonderful world

Blessing  # 46 – The colors of rainbow that surround us each day

On our patio we had a pretty pot of parsley growing happily in the sun.

That was until yesterday when overnight it was almost completely erased by a huge bug of unknown origin.

I absolutely love that it looks just like the bug emoji but I promise it’s for real.

Where do these critters come from?

How do they grow so fast?

What on earth will this green wonder turn into?

Who has the answer?

Blessing # 45 – Bright green bugs that will turn to butterflies

 

While on the road trip the lower left light beam went out on our car.

Yesterday we took it to our local MIDAS repair shop to have it fixed.

As we had done quite some miles I asked the manager on the front desk to have the mechanics check the oil and water to be sure we were doing OK.

The MIDAS operates on a first come first served basis for jobs like ours although you can make an appointment if you need a service.

The garage is close to a shopping strip so we went off by foot to buy new shoes for Dad and Aaron.

Within an hour we were all set and ready to roll.

The staff are wonderful so helpful  and so honest.

The manager had explained to me he would call and let me know the cost of the headlight because there were two possibilities on the bulb and they would only know when they took the light off. One would be $35 and the other $110. I said to go ahead no matter which one as I needed to have it changed.

When we went back to get the car turns out it was a $35 light and the oil and water were all fine.

So total charge? $35 for the light plus wait for this $5 for labor. Now that is one sweet deal!

MIDAS your get a BIG GOLD star!

Which company is on your list of best in class?

Blessing # 44 – Companies We Trust

Just as we were having dinner at the Guest House at Gracelands a huge storm blew up.

The power in the hotel went down but was soon restored thanks to good back up generators.

You can see it was pretty strong and the generators did a super job.

Well this same storm preceded us all the way home to Columbus.

We could see it ahead and another one coming behind us but with the exception of a few tail end showers we dodged them all the way.

We has such a great time but after more than 2000 miles and 600 of those today we are so glad to see Dad and Dibs.

Blessing # 43 – Dodging storms and safe returns

 

When we started out on our tour of the south Aaron and I decided to eat local.

We had a good breakfast at the hotels and a snacky lunch and gallons of water along the way.

Each evening Aaron did some google research and located a popular place. He used Yelp to rate each place and we were not once disappointed.

We went to roadhouses for BBQ and we went to buffets where we joined the locals in all you can eats

We had fried everything, including green tomatoes! We had catfish, ox tails, liver, shrimp and delicacies like collard greens, okra, yams, dressing (aka stuffing), creamed corn and biscuits a go go.

One thing we missed was grits so we absolutely need to go back for that!!!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures of our plates and that this wets your appetite for the southern states.

This was so much more fun than eating fast food it was such a feel good thing to do. Also we loved all the wonderful people we met at these places they were so hospitable and a real blessing.

But we confess that on our way home we cracked for convenience and speed and went to McDonalds for lunch. You can guess which portion was mine!!!!!!

 

On Day 6 our other surprise was the discovery of Elvis Presley’s birthplace in Mississippi.

He had humble beginnings. His boyhood home was tiny but so clean, warm and cosy.

Elvis was very much influenced by gospel music and the blues.

When we arrived at our hotel the Guest House at Graceland his music and magic were everywhere.

It is an absolutely fabulous hotel and highly recommended as a place to stay in Memphis.

Our last day was an all Elvis event with a visit to his beautiful home.

Graceland is so touching because it is really a family place.

It is a mansion of course but not that big at all.

Most importantly it is really homey and has such a welcoming and happy feel about it.

There are so many family photos and home movies and in them all you can see how much he loved his wife and little girl.

Bless him he was such a good soul and died so very young at only 42.

Loved his music especially Suspicious Minds.

What was your favorite one of his tunes?

Blessing # 42-Homes that Welcome

 

 

On the road from Birmingham to Memphis we made some more magical memories on Day 6.

The first, thanks to a tip from my friend Harris was a visit to the Irondale Cafe that was the inspiration for the book and movie Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe.

I remember so well going to see that movie with my friend Patricia and we both cried at the end. It is so lovely. I must read the book .

When we were there, with perfect timing  a big old train just whistled past!

 

Next we stopped at the Mississippi border and fell upon a group of musicians playing instruments I hadn’t seen before called Dulcimers.

They played the Sweet By and By.

This was very appropriate given our next planned stop the infamous Lorraine Motel.

Here we said our Bye and Bye and gave our thanks to MLK Jr.

We had one more surprise stop today but more of that tomorrow,

 

Blessing- #41– Last minute stops that add much joy to a journey

 

 

 

Day five we spent in Birmingham with a detour this time to Tuscaloosa.

Aaron wanted to see the Alabama football stadium!!!

The Alabama team is one of the greatest challenges that our own dear OSU faces each year so it is important to weigh them up!

Success on the field is in the hands of the team. No team can win unless each player works with the others.

Back to Birmingham and the impression it left was one of hope.

It reminded me very much of Belfast my own home town.

In spite of the tragedy of bullets and bombings that both places experienced they are marching on.

Many have played important roles in this journey as leaders and as inspiring role models.

Poverty is still out there to conquer but is it really more difficult than going into space?

Blessing # 40 – The progress that teamwork makes

Day four was hectic on our road trip but was absolutely wonderful.

We started with a visit to the river front at Montgomery where slaves arrived from Africa.

We ended by taking the road from Selma to Montgomery that resulted in the achievement of voting rights for all.

In between we had a planned detour to the very special place that is Monroeville.

Here two literary geniuses met as children, inspired each other and became best friends forever.

They were Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote.

Seeing where they grew up, how close they were and how deeply they cared for each was so very touching.

Visiting the site of the courthouse where Harper’s father worked and that played such a key part in To Kill a Mockingbird left me with a memory for a lifetime.

Just outside the court there was a little market where we stopped so Aaron could buy a gift for his Dad.

The farmer who sold us the gift knew Nelle (Harper) and he told us a story about her.

Seems she has a parrot that she had trained to become a great talker. When anyone knocked at the door the parrot would greet them and sounded just like her and she found this very amusing.

We asked him if we could take his photo and he happily agreed.

Finally to make the visit even more special you would not believe it but a Mockingbird came right up beside our car as we were leaving as if to say “Come Back Soon”

Blessing # 39 – When magical moments touch your life