I'm Baa-aaack!......Did You Miss Me?

I didn't really have time to post anything on my blog before I left, but I went with my sister, Donna, (aka zztop here in my comments) to Mountain View, Arkansas to visit my niece over the weekend. I had so much to do around the house, shopping and getting ready to go that I didn't have time to blog about the trip and let everyone I'd be in-blog-nito for the weekend. These photos aren't mine, I Googled them for eye candy. I took a few pictures with my faithful digital camera, but most of them were from the moving vehicle and aren't exactly professional quality. In other words, they make like a Hoover, and are only fit for my viewing. I did get a couple of my great-niece and great-nephew that are pretty good, so I'll share those here.
That's Jon on the left, and Luci on the right. I'm just a little bit partial to them, but not any more than I am to the other great-nieces and nephews. Luci can't pronounce Diane plainly, so she calls me Di-nan. It's cute, and I've been called a lot worse over the years.

That picture below and left is of me and Tami. She was about Luci's age now, maybe 3 or 4. They favor quite a bit, I think. I know I'm dating myself, but it's fun to compare the mother/daughter pics, I think.

Thanks to my niece Tami and Ron for their hospitality, and to Donna for inviting me to go along with her. I got to do several of my favorite things this weekend: Travel; sight-see; go to the Ozark Mountains; go catfishing; and listen to live music on the square in Mountain View. They are well-known for their musical heritage, especially country music, bluegrass, gospel, folk and instrumental. We had good weather for it, too. Mostly sunny and hot in the daytime, but not too hot, and cool at night but not too cool. We didn't even need the air conditioner at night, although I did use my little fan I took along with me. If you've never been to the Ozarks, I highly recommend you visit. There's everything from camping to cabins to bed and breakfasts to the big chain hotels, according to where you go and your personal preferences.

Here's a couple of maps to show where I live, and where to find Mountain View. On the map to the left, if you'll look on the right side, you'll see Memphis, Tennessee, and just above it, Jonesboro, Arkansas. Just southeast of Jonesboro, you'll see Bay, Arkansas, where I live. Also, notice Batesville, Arkansas. On the next map, below right, it's zoomed in a little more on Batesville and the surrounding area.

Mountain View is where the red star is in the center of the map. I had a grand time, but, Mercy, I was give out when I got home! I don't recall having fun taking so much out of me when I was younger. Or maybe that was because I WAS younger.......Anyway, all that fun whupped me real good, and I'm still recovering. For anyone who might not know, mountains seem to have a lot of rocks, and are very steep, whether you're trying to walk up, or down. Arthritis and rocks, steep, up and down make for a very stiff and painful Diane. :-( But I'm ready to go back tomorrow if I get the chance. :-)

Ticks......I can report that there is an especially good crop of these things this year. I found one crawling up my bare leg, but so far I haven't found any actually stuck and biting me. The people, pets, livestock and wildlife who live around there battle them every year. That is one thing I don't like about the mountains, but we have ticks here in the Delta, too.

Another thing I saw an over-abundance of was this: Poison ivy, there climbing the tree on the left, and Poison oak, on the right. I don't know how I managed to avoid it, but so far I have escaped the itchy rash that informs you that you rashly got too up-close and personal with the offensive herbage. Poison oak I can treat at home and wear out with home remedies, but the only time I had poison ivy, which attacked me when I was cutting wood, I had to go to the Doctor to free myself from the bondage of THE ITCHING......OH, THE ITCHING!! And did I mention the itching? Oh. My. Word. I have NEVER ItChEd in my life like I did with poison ivy. So I scratched.......and I scratched........And when I wasn't scratching, I ITCHED just for more practice. I got to be an expert at itching and scratching, let me tell you.

Another thing I seem to have escaped this time is an infestation of chiggers. Chiggers are teeny tiny red mites that bite, and are smaller than the head of a pin.If you've never had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a pack (?) of chiggers, you should stop reading this blog right. now. and offer thanks to God in Heaven for His blessings on you thus far in your sheltered life. In my experience, you don't usually have just one or two chiggers......They attack in squadrons, and in some VERY sensitive places at times. It's just not polite to scratch where chiggers like to set up their itchy housekeeping, folks. Chiggers make itchy, unsightly, huge honkin' bumps. Anybody who's ever had one can spot one on somebody else from halfway across Walmart, usually on the Calamine lotion and Hydrocortisone Cream aisle. Now if you want to talk about true misery, let's talk about having poison oak/ivy and chiggers together. Now there's a recipe for misery, and I've been the proud recipient of that mix several times in my checquered past. Hunting, fishing, walking in the woods or just sitting on an innocent looking rock can render you inflicted and infected in just few minutes time.

I got home late Sunday afternoon, then had to go get groceries Monday morning. Sue and Cecil came up to visit Monday afternoon and play games, then I barbecued some country-style ribs on the grill, and grilled some yellow squash. It was good stuff, if I do say so myself. If you like squash, you have to try it grilled. I brush it with a little oil, salt to taste, and grill till tender crisp. I like portabella mushrooms grilled, too, or any mushrooms for that matter.

As I said, I'm still recovering from my weekend trip, and man, I'm tired! So, I will post this and try to catch up on some of your blogs that I fell behind on reading. I'm not as lucky as some, I don't have a laptop. Not that it would have mattered, I probably wouldn't have had internet access anyway. My niece has internet through their subscription TV provider, though. Tami, I will try to send you some of those pics I took while I was there as soon as I can get to it, okay? You, too, zztop. You can right-click on these on the blog to save these if you want them. Okay, I'm through playing now. Love and blessings to all my blogger friends and family. Have a great week, everyone! :-) :-)