Random thoughts on a Saturday morning

It’s hard to believe that September is winding down. Here in Kentucky leaves are beginning to turn and in just a couple of weeks it will be time for this county’s big fall event-the annual Pumpkin Festival. When my children were small it was held the third weekend in October. One year it was so cold that we had to wrap Justin in blankets and he still managed to have a red nose. Justin is now 22 so that’s been awhile and the Pumpkin Festival is now the first weekend in October.

Just in case you don’t live in a rural area and get to experience a festival of some sort I’ll give you a general, concise description. The court house yard fills with food and crafts booths. There is an outhouse race for the adventurous (if you don’t know what an outhouse is you really are deprived). There’s a fun walk and 5K run for the energetic. There’s a costume contest for the kids. The best thing about it is that it is like a big homecoming for everyone who ever lived in our little community. I always see folks I haven’t seen in a long time. Neighboring counties have Watermelon Festival, Cow Days, and so on and so forth. Personally I think pumpkins were a good choice for a festival. They are pretty, decorative and I love pumpkin bread. So if you live close (or if you don’t and you want to travel) come visit us the first weekend in October.

More Randomness

Did you see the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? If you haven’t, rent it. It’s very funny. In the movie the dad believes that no matter what the problem, you can cure it by squirting Windex on it. A few weeks ago I was looking for something to take a stain out of my carpet. I got online and Googled “what will take stains out of carpet?” (what did we do before Google?) and one of the answers was ….

I tried it and it worked like a charm. Now I’m squirting it on everything just to see what will happen. I squirted some on my stomach to see if it would shrink so my jeans would zip, but it didn’t work and I think I know why.

Twice this week my sweet husband brought cheese cake home. He knows I love it and when they have some left over at hospital events he always asks for some of the leftovers to bring home to me. The cake in the above picture was made by my friend Dorothy (this weeks nana of the week). She actually made it for my boys, but that hasn’t kept me from eating some too (okay, a lot).

If you notice to the right of the cake is a fortune cookie. I opened it up and the fortune said “She who eats cake all week will gain weight and not be able to zip her jeans.” Hmmmmmm

Last random thought of the morning

The September issue of Kentucky Living was the last issue for my column “Kindred Spirits.” After 13 years it was canceled. (Do you think I should be superstitious?)  I realize that my column ending is not the same thing as MASH going off the air or the Guiding Light leaving CBS (by the way, I used to watch that with my grandmother). Still, I was devastated when I learned they were updating the magazine and no longer needed my column. What should I do, I wondered?  I have always been a believer that when one door closes, another door opens and so NanaHood was born.

Thanks to all of you who followed my column at Kentucky Living. You have been so kind and so supportive. Many of you have emailed and let me know that you will miss Kindred Spirits and that means more to me than you could know. Last night a guy I haven’t seen in years told me he lived in Louisville and didn’t get the magazine at his house, but every month when he went to the post office he fished through the trash can until he found a copy of the magazine so he could read my column. When I told him it had been canceled he was relieved to hear he would no longer have to be seen digging through the garbage!

I don’t know why other folks write, but for me it’s always been the most fun therapy (and cheapest) I know of. It’s a way to connect with other people. Thanks for hanging with me at Kentucky Living for 13 years and thanks for visiting me at NanaHood. Tell your friends and family and yall come back now, ya hear!