Yet Another Journal

Nostalgia, DVDs, old movies, television, OTR, fandom, good news and bad, picks, pans,
cute budgie stories, cute terrier stories, and anything else I can think of.


 Contact me at theyoungfamily (at) earthlink (dot) net

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» Friday, September 25, 2015
A Rainy Day in Buckhead-Town

Woke up three times last night; totally annoying. At least I was of some use the last time, which was 6:45 a.m.—James was still asleep! He should have been up for work a half hour earlier!

Since I was awake anyway, I pulled on my dog-walking duds and helped him load up the power chair, which saved him a few minutes, and he made it in the office with two minutes to spare. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I checked out something I'd recorded last night—except it didn't record properly. Bit pissed about it. So I did something happier and took Tucker out for a walk. Now that it's cooler I don't mind going. Will be happiest when it's cool enough that I don't have to change to go outside.

It was what the Irish call "a soft day" outside, a wet one that ranged from mizzle to drizzle to a light steady rain, but it never turned into the heavy, driving torrents we get during the summer, and it was never oppressively dark. Tucker didn't like it much, but we got round, and then I had breakfast.

Since Barnes & Noble is offering 20 percent off for members this weekend, I thought it would be a good day to go into Buckhead, as it's the only place I can find "This England." As always, the Buckhead store was warm with the scent of Starbuck's, except it always smells a little burnt to me. I did find the autumn issue of "This England," plus (finally) the autumn "Landlove," and "Blue Ridge Country" with leaf tours, and I bought an issue of "Outdoor Photographer" which talks about taking good photographs of autumn landscapes. "Country Sampler's" Christmas issue was out, so I got that as well, and just for the heck of it I bought Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow.

I hadn't been to Richard's in a while, so worked my way down to Peachtree Battle Shopping Center (still wistfully thinking about Oxford Books and Oxford Too). Richard's Variety Store is about as close as you can get to a five and ten anymore. They carry some hardware and cooking items, but mostly toys and cards and gag gifts, plus a smattering of books. I picked up some odd things: a new sponge saddle, reflector lights for James' power chair, some bumper stickers as gifts, and also the cutest card for our anniversary.

Finally I cut through the vintage Peachtree Hills neighborhood with its tiny homes and abundant gardens back to Piedmont Road via Lindbergh. This area has changed so much since I first started work at CDC. We used to come down to the KMart shopping center at Lindbergh and Sidney Marcus for Myriad lunch, either to the Shoney's or the Piccadilly Cafeteria, or the Chinese restaurant, a couple of times to the Russian restaurant. Binders, the art store, used to be there, too, and the KMart was two stories. When I first moved to Atlanta, James and I ate Thanksgiving dinner at that old Piccadilly and then went to see Oliver and Company. That's all gone: now it's swanky apartments for rich swells and a few stores and restaurants. Ironically, the old Shoney's building is still there, all boarded up, very surprising considering land values there now.

So, I drive to the Container Store on the corner of Piedmont and Peachtree, except it's not there. Yay, Waze to the rescue! North on Peachtree Road? Past Lenox Mall? On the right? It couldn't be...

Yes, actually it could. The Container Store is now in the old Borders Store. Thank God. It would have been horrible if it had been turned into a shoe store.

I picked up more carabinars, as they have proved to be useful, and also items to keep cords straight, and other little gadgets. Damn, they add up quickly. But I did find something I've been looking for for months, except I didn't know what they are called. Apparently now that I found them, I discovered they go by different names. I bought them under the name "Go Straps." It is a small strip that fastens to the back of your phone (or tablet). Attached to the strip is an elastic, so you can put a couple of fingers in it and hold the phone securely. I've been looking for them since I saw them at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation last year.

I was going to take the back way home, through the pretty streets of Brookhaven, past my favorite house, and through Chastain Park and Mount Paran Road. ("Mr. Inflatable" may even have his Hallowe'en decorations out by now!) Then my low gasoline light came on, and I figured the freeway might be the more direct route. Nope. Peachtree Dunwoody and the Glenwood Connector were all backed up because there was a horrendous mess on GA400: a Publix 18-wheeler delivery truck and a tanker truck both fell off the overpass of I-285 Westbound onto GA400. I went right by it caught in the detour traffic shunting everyone eastbound: the Publix truck was upside down in the middle of the road with cardboard boxes scattered around it, the tanker turned sideways on the slope down from the overpass. It looked like every police officer in DeKalb County was there. Absolutely frightening. Thankfully, no one was killed, not even the truck drivers.

Came home feeling the effects of little sleep. Put down my bags, checked to see if Tucker and Snowy were okay, and then lay down on the bed almost until James came home.

We went to Hibachi Grill for supper, but I was so sleepy I don't think I tasted anything. We also went to Best Buy to pick up a new charger for James. We found some inexpensive ones there on Saturday, and it turned out that by today they had moved them and we searched for a half hour before finding them in a far corner of the store. Came home, chilled out reading "Autumn Bliss" (from "Bliss Victoria" magazine) and listening to the instrumental Christmas music I bought at the Yellow Daisy Festival, Celtic harp with violin, viola, hammered dulcimer and pennywhistle. Some Celtic music in with the sweet standards.

When I took Tucker out for his final walk of the night it was still lightly. lightly mizzling. The streetlights turned the grass into diamond-strewn lawns, and our "firecracker" bushes on either side of the front steps had what looked like sparkling bits of stars dotted on the leaves.

Finally, parts two and three of "The Mind of Evil" on Doctor Who. The Master over Daleks any day, thank you.

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