darndest things

Jon, speaking to Adara: "You see, Mama and I are one."

Adara: "I'm two."

And in a completely unrelated vein, here's a link to a song that Jon and I heard on the radio as we were driving across Tennessee when we were moving to North Carolina. I'd love to have it play automatically whenever someone accesses my blog, but I don't know how to do that.

To play a sample of the song, click on "play sample" at the following page:

http://www.pandora.com/music/song/dailey+vincent/poor+boy+workin+blues

New Jersey

We recently went with Jon on a business trip to New Jersey. We were near Menlo Park, the place where Thomas Edison set up one of his factories. Inside the Edison museum, we saw this really cool way to make a phonograph using normal materials from your home. I can't wait to put one together myself.

The tower was closed for renovation. The museum was free to visit, with a suggested donation of $2 per person.

On our way back home, we stopped in Philadelphia to visit some old friends.

They showed us around town: the Liberty Bell, the home where Thomas

Jefferson lived while he worked on the Declaration of Independence,

and the park by the Museum of Art, where we actually saw a man running up the stairs like Rocky. We loved the parts of the city we saw. It was beautiful. Thanks to the Tolleys for showing us a great time.

Learning by Example

Today before dinner, Adara was playing downstairs. I asked her to go upstairs and turn off the light in her bedroom. Without missing a beat, she turned to her Papa and said, "Papa, go turn off the light in the bedroom."

Guess what this blog is about

Yup, that's right everyone. Once again, small town law enforcement has saved the day! This time it was Jon that got pulled over while he was out jogging one afternoon. His offense? Running on the wrong side of the street. Don't get me wrong - I'm grateful for the police looking out for us. And I'm happy that my husband is now aware that running INTO oncoming traffic is the correct location for a pedestrian. But most especially, I'm grateful to be back home in good ol' North Carolina. (Look for updates on our recent trip to New Jersey. Coming soon!)

More on Law Enforcement

I think I may be on the verge of liking this place.

This story is a little out of sequence, chronologically. But I didn't think to blog about it until this morning.

We visited Salt Lake City for a few weeks about a month ago. But we forgot to tell our neighbor. We also forgot to cancel the daily newspaper delivery. The car, also, was left home. Can you tell where this is going?

When we came back from our vacation, there was a business card in the door. It was from an officer in the local Police Department. They apparently didn't enter the home, but, in my imagination, I can see the door to our home opening. An eerie silence seeps through the iron railing in the dining room. Behind the railing, on the couch, the family sits, cryogenically frozen, in what will prove to be a mixed-genre story: science fiction / fairy tale / Mormon folklore. (Think Dr. Who meets Sleeping Beauty, with the role of Prince Charming / The Doctor played by the Elder's Quorum president.) Who can rescue our family from their freakish sleep? Wouldn't you know it? Of all the luck, the family can only be awakened when the home teachers perform a charitable act of service for them. But it must be a true act of charity, and not just done out of a sense of guilt or a desire to post 100% on their monthly home teaching report.

Anyway, back to reality. So we have some conscientious neighbors who were concerned about an unusual situation. That's always a good thing. Who wouldn't want neighbors like that? Still . . . I can't help but think that, since we've moved, the Police have contacted me and my family more than . . . well, more than our home teachers have!

Fish Themes

Finally, some local excitement. (Oh, and if you've missed the most recent pictures: www.picasaweb.google.com/tempppo)

We, unfortunately, missed the Sardine festival last weekend. That would have been exciting. From what I understand, town residents get together on Friday evening to eat sardines and crackers. Then, if you can stomach it, there are Moonpies for dessert. I'm actually kinda sad that I missed it.

Now that the temperatures have cooled off and the mosquitoes have left us, we see children in the park almost every day. That could be exciting -- for Adara. I need to recover from my disillusionment before I can look at the parks with excitement again.

And Jon -- he went fishing this morning. Broke his fishing pole. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about whether that was exciting.

But today was truly exciting. Dinner. Dinner today was exciting.

Our dining choices in the vicinity, assuming that we will be eating dinner after 3:30 p.m. (because that's when most of the local shops close on Saturdays), are national chains, a smattering of local places in the neighboring town, and 2 restaurants in our own historic downtown. We've already been to the Mexican restaurant here -- excellent salsa and yummy food. But the cafe was never a real option. Until tonight.

Their special tonight was an all-you-can-eat fish fry. It could have been a disaster. Fried food at a local restaurant in a tiny, mostly-dead Southern town. Risky. I steeled my belly and determinedly made my way to a potentially wonderful culinary adventure, and an assuredly rememberable dining experience.

It was delicious. I could have eaten for hours. My 2-year-old liked it. She liked it so much she ate 4 pieces. My husband liked it. The wait staff was friendly but not overbearing. There were Halloween decorations to occupy our toddler's attention while we waited for the food. My joy at finding something that I truly liked, without having to invent it or make it in my own home, was unsurpassed in this season of my life.

Yes indeed. The small pleasures are truly the greatest ones.

Walking After Midnight

Life in our small southern town continues to be creatively interesting. Last night I went for a walk. It was late, the weather was beautiful, and I had some things on my mind. So my walk lasted a bit longer than it may have under different circumstances. I was almost back home when I saw a police vehicle behind me. The car slowed, pulled over, and still I kept walking until the officer asked to speak with me.

Yes, indeed, ladies and gentlemen, I, a pedestrian, was being "pulled over" for taking a walk. God bless America! And God bless small towns where police officers have nothing better to do than investigate suspicious housewives taking a breather at 11:00 p.m. I'm not sure if I should feel safer with this knowledge? Or perhaps I can work up some conspiracy theory about small town law enforcement . . .