My aunt got in yesterday afternoon (slowly, the family is trickling in from all the four courners)and seeing as I didn’t have anywhere I had to be, I went over and had dinner with the family. It was great. Hell, I even got to meet one of my cousin’s kids and my mom’s new dog. (They’re both adorable - and I don’t warm to small kids that easy.)
Picking up the thread of an old project, I was able to find several LJ’s for people in and around my old hometown. The downside? They’re all kids. Trivial kids who can’t form a complete sentence unless they’re whinging. God save me from teenblogs.
It’s not really their fault - most adolescents around there go through some phase like that. I chalk it up to being stuck in the boonies and yet having access to mass media. But I can’t say I have any desire to read them.
I’m beginning to recollect exactly why I had such a hard on to get *out* of there when I was 18.
That, of course, is the big irony. ‘Cause I would like nothing better than to be able to live in the area now. But if I hadn’t been able to get away when I did, I’d never have been able to appreciate the value of air that doesn’t smell like car fumes, or a quiet afternoon unpuncuated by sirens. I never would have understood just how much I love wildflowers and how much I despise asphalt. I also never would have been able to draw the distinction that while I may not like most of the people I grew up around (talking about non-family here) I do love the place itself.
I’d never have come to understand these things if I hadn’t left.
The new project? Find a good, *intelligent* blog from someone living in Sussex County. I have faith. I will find it eventually. 
Things were going too smoothly, so I should have known something crappy was in the works. My car’s exhaust system decided to crap out yesterday. Thank god I save my pennies. Thank god I’ve got a cool mechanic who won’t try to screw me any more than necessary. Sheesh.
So during the summer I usually come up with different perk me up beverages. Jolt was nice, but all the stores on my route to work stopped carrying it. Bleah. SoBe and Snapple are great, but some days I don’t have the loose change. And the one SoBe flavor I really like (Oolong tea) is only carried by one supermarket in a three town radius.
So what do I do on the days when I’m too lazy or spare change challenged to buy something cold and caffinated? (No, the teas don’t have much caffeine - that what Vivarin pills are for.) Instant iced coffee was getting boring, so I’ve started making my own fruit smoothes. (I knew that hand mixer was going to be useful for something) 2 Cups of orange juice, 2 bananas, and a little iced tea mix - frappe for two minutes, and you’re good to go.
‘Kay, I just snarfed my lunch reading this and must share the giggles. Ever wonder exactly why Lex got sent to smallville? At the Fifteenth Annual Evil Mastermind Convention, by Basingstoke.
I’m watching Robin Williams on HBO right now, and all I can think is that everyone in his world is gay. Very gay. This man has gayer goggles than a slasher.
I was silly on monday and walked a mile or so too much. Now I have a pulled calf muscle - which means I’m blogging instead of taking my evening walk. Depressingly, that’s about all I have to blog. Faire and the big family function continue to creep up on the horizon, Bill’s thinking about going to the Zap paintball tournament about that same time, and I’m working on an expansion to the portfolio area. I’m tempted to put the new stuff up in dribs and drabs, but I really want to do it all at once. Easier to keep track of everything that way.
My grandma’s turning 80 next month, and about 90% of my family will be coming home for the party. Looking forward to it a lot - some of these folks I haven’t seen since my early teens.
Then the very next day, NRYF opens. It’s going to be an interesting weekend.