KRISPY KREME

I admit it: I'm a fast food junkie. Hamburgers, french fries, fried chicken, biscuits...

But I love Krispy Kreme doughnuts best.

When I was young, I lived in Atlanta and every day as I walked to work, I'd stop at a little hole-in-the-wall cafe and have two doughnuts for breakfast. Then early one morning, before dawn and after a night of bowling, friends took me to Krispy Kreme where the HOT sign was on. They were turning out fresh doughnuts and they were...Sigh.

Oh my goodness! I was hooked.

KK places used to be scarcer than they are today and there were years I went without a warm doughnut. But when we moved back to north Georgia, we found one very near where we live. Passing by one morning, the HOT sign was on.

My guy bravely made a sharp turn into the parking lot. It was almost full--lots of people stop when the HOT sign is on--but he edged into a small space between two cars parked on the lines. We rushed inside and there they were. Freshly cooked doughnuts, riding through the glaze and coming down the runway!

And then a sweeping U-turn so the workers could scoop them up and put them into boxes:

The worker asked if she could help me. "Um, yes, please. I'd like two. No. Make that four."

We ate them right then and there. Afterward, we peered at the display case and ended up getting blueberry cake doughnuts to take home. But they weren't nearly as good as those glazed ones straight out of the cooker.

I won't tell you how many pounds I put on that day. I prefer to forget.

SPRING?

Georgia is having a strange February this year. It should be cold and wintry. Maybe even some freezing rain and snow. But no...

Instead, spring is bursting out all over. On campus, here's one of the buildings. Note the flowering trees and the student in shorts:

Still on campus, here's some edging plants:

Even our little neighborhood has its early bloomers. Here are a few pix of what we always called "March Flowers." They're just early daffodils that bloom in March. But this year, they're blooming all over the place now!

I finally gave in and broke out my short pants and sandals. Couldn't help myself. The crazy weather is just too nice!

COVERED BRIDGE

My guy has been looking for things to photograph so when we came across a nearby covered bridge, we drove over to view it.

It's an actual working covered bridge, built in 1885 although I'm sure it's been renovated since it seems to be in pretty good shape.

We went through it to get to the best side for taking photos. Several more cars came through while we were there. One at a time as you can probably tell.

Further down the river are shoals, with lots of pretty flat rocks that will be great for summertime splashing!

And it was in a lovely little park, with picnic tables, restrooms and a hiking trail. We'll have to return this summer.

ECCENTRICS

Now that we're in North Georgia, I'm happy to report we have our strange folk here, too. I once did a blog on a truck covered with stuffed wildlife we found parked at a fast food place on the island. The other day we ran across another decorated truck up here.

We saw the back first.

Walked up to inspect it.

Took a closer look.

Couldn't help myself. Had to go around to the front.

My, my. We do have our eccentrics everywhere, don't we? But life would be so...bland...without them!

CRIME BLOTTER

Still enjoying the local crime scenes the paper reports on. There have been drug charges, traffic charges, thefts, and the other usual incidents.

Like domestic stuff:

A man and his wife got into it during a threesome when he began paying more attention to the third party than to his wife. Another woman attacked her boyfriend when he started moving out, then punched him in the face after he made it to his truck. And still another women--what is it with these females?--attacked her boyfriend after he took her car keys because she was drunk.

And speaking of drunks. One officer gave an especially descriptive account of a drunk driver. After noting erratic driving, the officer followed an SUV till it stopped. Liquor fumes were strong but the driver wouldn't take a sobriety test. He ended up being charged on several counts, the officer noting in his report that the man stumbled and was moving "as slow as a turtle." Guess he was trying not to fall over in front of the cop.

In another DUI incident, police stopped a scooter after seeing the passenger not wearing a helmet.  The driver was hesitant in providing his ID. Probably because his license had been suspended. Then they noticed alcohol on the driver's breath. He failed the sobriety test and ending up beingcharged with driving (a scooter) on a suspended license and DUI. The passenger was ticketed for not having a helmet. Bet the driver wishes he'd insisted she get a helmet before giving her a lift.

A man was arrested for urinating in front of a Subway. The restaurant manager wanted to simply have him barred from the premises but as he filled out paperwork for the officer, the man began yelling and carrying on. So he got himself arrested. He should have kept quiet and found another restaurant to hang out at.

Another report involved a woman running into a parked car. Seems her hood, that had been tied down, flew up so that she couldn't see. But...she was eating a bowl of ice cream at the time. How do you eat a bowl of ice cream and drive? And, she had taken some prescription drugs. Anyway, she got charged with a bunch of stuff. Driving under the influence of drugs, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving an unregistered vehicle, driving while distracted, and no proof of insurance. Whew! Might should have left the ice cream at home.

How I enjoy these arrest reports!

ANOTHER MOVIE

We got so fired up when we took our guests to the movies, we went to another one last week!

We saw The Post, with Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. The story is about the release of the Pentagon Papers, the secret report that detailed what went on behind the Viet Nam War.

The report, commissioned by then Secretary of Defense Robert Macnamara, was kept from the public. All the while Americans were being told the war was winnable and just, they never knew a report concluded just the opposite.

At the time, there was a great controversy about the unauthorized release amid the shock that the government had lied. I believe that Ellsberg, the man who stole the papers, went to trial but was not convicted.

The movie tells two--actually, three--stories. One shows how the New York Times printed some of the papers before it had to halt publication due to a court-ordered injunction. A second focuses on how the Washington Post took up the standard and defied the court order so that Americans could continue to learn the truth. The third shows Katharine Meyer Graham beginning to turn from a socialite housewife into the powerful businesswoman she later became.

Katherine's father had bought the Post but at his death, he left it to her husband Phillip. Back then, despite the women who were millworkers and nurses and teachers, women didn't own businesses. However when her husband committed suicide, Katherine inherited the company. She lacked confidence in her abilities and the movie shows her uncertainty as she meekly listens to the male advisers around her, worries about what she should do, and wonders how she can function in a milieu where she feels ineffectual and ignorant.

And when, against her lawyers' advice, she finally makes her decision to publish the Pentagon Papers despite the court order against the Times, she's uncertain and fearful but determined. It must have taken a great deal of courage to go against a lifetime of bowing to men's superior knowledge. It must have taken even more courage to know she could go to jail for standing up for what she believed: the freedom of the press.

But she did. And at the end of the movie, she leaves the courtroom where the NY Times has just been vindicated, to rows of young women lining the steps, watching her in silent admiration. And that was certainly a portent of what was to come, when women finally flexed their muscles.

Hanks is good; Streep is good; if you get a chance, see the movie.

SQUIRRELS AND CATS AND OTHER THINGS

Our cat doesn't like us.

At the shelter, when we took her out of her cage, she was friendly, well-mannered, and calm. We petted her and she seemed glad of the attention.

We got her home and...

Once out of the carrier, she took off and it took several days for her to come around us. Now she looks down her nose at us, like she's saying, "Okay. I allowed you to break me out, but that doesn't mean I have to put up with you." She doesn't like being petted. She doesn't like the kind of food we feed her. She won't come sit with us. She won't play with us.

Oh, she doesn't scratch or claw when we pick her up. But at the first opportunity, she hops down and runs the other way. And the only time she approaches us is when it's time for food.

Otherwise...We're on our own. She hangs out in her room and we hang out in ours. If she decides to play with her toys, she plays with them by herself. She stops playing if we try to join in.

So we've taken to exclaiming over the birds and squirrels that seem to abound in our yard, hoping she'll get a little jealous. So far, no good. But the other critters are quite cute and fun to watch!

Like this squirrel. He gets on the big feeder and pitches food out on the ground while picking out the tastiest morsels for himself. Here he is in the bushes, eyeing the feeder:

And here, he's climbing up the feeder:

He strikes all kinds of cute poses as he eats:

The doves below like for him to eat, too, since they get what's on the ground.

There are also cardinals, a blue jay, and other birds that I have no names for. But they're all interesting.

Thank goodness, they'll entertain us since our house pet won't! Though she enjoys watching them, too.