Thursday, August 18

Woke up around 6 a.m. to a thunderstorm, for the second day in a row. Turned on the TV to see if the storm was predicted to persist into the time the ladies were to meet at my house for an outing to another town.

Yes, the rain, and possibly storms were to continue throughout the morning. I got up and readied myself for the trip, anyway, which was no small order. Yesterday, I'd chosen the outfit I thought I would be wearing today, but since it was raining, I changed my mind several times before landing on something I thought would be right for the weather.

Around 8 a.m., one of the ladies called, and I thought for sure she was going to back out of going. But she seemed surprised to hear my voice. "Oh, honey," she said, "I didn't mean to call you. I meant to call the body shop to cancel my appointment."

So maybe that was the reason this lady couldn't drive to my house this morning...her car needed to go to the shop.

No one else called to cancel, and by 9:45, everyone was at my house, except the lady who wanted me to "swing by and pick her up," which I did. We were on our way by 10 a.m. Seems I wasn't the only one who had trouble choosing something to wear this morning...everyone described their tribulations, noting that, like me, lots of discarded clothing now litters their beds and bedroom chairs, waiting for them to get home and hang it up.

We arrived at the other town just before 11 a.m. On the way, the lady I picked up laughed about inadvertently calling me this morning. "Your number is right below the number for my beauty shop," she said.

"Beauty shop?" I asked. "I thought you were trying to call a body shop."

"Yes," she said, "I don't know why anyone would name their beauty shop "The Body Shop."

Despite the rain, or maybe because of it, the drive on the winding highway to the other town was lovely. The trees on the rolling hills were blue-green and smoky with mist. Cattle dotted some hillside pastures. Old farmhouses, some still occupied, some abandoned, and ancient barns, added a bygone look to the scenery.

A few months ago, we were advised that there was a new restaurant in that town that served down home meals. The menu was the same every day...only one choice of plates..but it was supposed to be good. So the first thing we did was look for that restaurant. We found it, but it was closed down. This is the second time we've visited that town and tried to eat at that same location...another restaurant was in the building then, and it was closed down, too, when we visited.

So we stopped at a gas station to ask if there was another restaurant in this small town of around 2600 people. We were directed to a burger place that also serves plate lunches.

The restaurant was quite cool, so I retrieved my sweater from the van for Mother, who was already wearing a three-quarter sleeve blouse over a shirt. This is always what happens...I bring along a sweater for myself in case a restaurant is cool, and I end up giving it to Mother, who gets even colder than I do. I should learn to go prepared with two sweaters or lightweight jackets.

A couple of the ladies, including Mother, ordered the fried catfish plates, one lady ordered grilled chicken and veggies, and another got the hamburger steak with onions and peppers. I ordered a beef open-face sandwich, but the waitress said they didn't have the beef, as it had spoiled. But they did have a roast pork open-face sandwich, which I ordered.

It was awful. Tasted like they'd cooked the pork, mashed potatoes, and gravy with vinegar. Thinking it might just be my taste buds, I let the other ladies sample it. Everyone agreed it was terrible. So when the waitress returned, I voiced my displeasure. She apologized and offered any other meal I wanted. I chose the grilled chicken, which was fine.

By the time we left the restaurant, the sun was blazing, and the humidity was on the rise. We stopped by a warehouse store suggested to us by one of the members, and the main reason for the trip.

It's a large store that carries a variety of things from tools to toys. We were interested in the scrapbook supplies, which were mainly what Mother and I bought. The other ladies also found "dust catcher" items to use for secret pal gifts, as well as paperback novels for themselves, gift bags, and silk flowers for the graves of their loved ones. I found two small books of quotes about cats and gardens that I managed to buy without Mother seeing them. I'll add these to her "twelve days of Christmas" stash.

When we were done shopping, we prevailed upon one of the store employees to take a picture of us around a seated figure of a bewhiskered "old timer" that looked like a gold prospector or something.

We arrived back in our town mid-afternoon. Mother went home, and Hubbie and I relaxed for the rest of the afternoon until supper time. I wasn't very hungry, but I joined Hubbie in bowls of potato soup, with bran muffins.

Later, we watched a couple of Lifetime Movie Network features, one of which I had seen already, but Hubbie didn't remember it. It was called, "Legacy of Fear," about a woman who, as a child, witnessed her mother's murder. Now, as a detective, she is obsessed with finding the murderer. Surprise ending.

The second movie was called, "Imaginary Playmate," about a child whose mother has died, and whose father has remarried. The family moves to a country home, where the girl develops an imaginary friend, who turns out to be not so imaginary.