I might want one of these swings in my yard - except that today it IS in my yard.





I'm parked at Franklin Park at Purcellville, walking around this garden spot. It's a memorial garden, actually.

Plants and trees and benches and garden swing... many of the plantings bear plaques indicating in whose memory they were planted.




















I've seen people spend an awful lot on funerals. I've promised to haunt anyone who does that upon my demise. What I'd want is a Native American style scaffold like in the beginning of Windwalker. Probably illegal in this neck of the woods. But - Plant a tree! Adopt a highway! Clean a stream! No funeral, no embalming, no fancy casket. No permanent piece of real estate. I have spoken.

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addenda:

I saw this on the walkway.

So is it that someone marked where a ground dwelling spider lives? Or what?

Bingo! Eureka! I found it!

I don't eat sugar any more. For various reasons, like for instance I no longer take tums at an alarming rate. I don't miss heartburn.

I do make a breakfast shake of protein powder, ground oatmeal, orange juice and milk. Normally I use MLO protein powder, available at Kroger, unsweetened and economical.
This week I'm working so close to last week's job that I didn't go home in between. I ran out of protein powder and there are no Kroger stores up here. Food Lion, Safeway, Giant, but no Kroger. I checked all 3 chains and some drug stores and health food stores.

Not only do they not carry MLO, the brands they DO carry are all sweetened with something. There are many many names for sugar. Most of them end in -ose or -ol. Read labels - you'll find out what's really in the food.

At Healthway Natural Foods in Purcelleville, though, I had to make choices. They had at least 5 different unsweetened protein powders to choose from. This is a high quality problem ;) They also have an excellent selection of other good stuff. They're having their grand opening October 28th from 11-4 and I wish them great success.

One of these things is not like the others, one of these things does not belong:


Look at the picture. Find the item that doesn't belong with the rest of the items in the picture.







If you selected the plastic bottle lying in the grass, you're right.






We can put people in outer space but we can't put a coke can
in the trash can 6 feet away?













In all fairness, Franklin Park at Purcellville VA is a beautiful, clean and well-cared for park.

It's just that humans are humans: messy. So here are these examples of what I see - often in much more quantity - in the course of seeking out beautiful peaceful outdoor locations.



What you pay attention to, you get more of. For the rest of the afternoon I noticed every little cigarette butt, every little scrap of paper. Many of these found their way into my trash bag on my way to the picnic table to grill chicken and re-string the banjo.

A true treat in the travelling life is to find an indoor pool, with no requirement to pay annual membership. I found one in Leesburg, VA at the Ida Lee Park recreation center. 2 pools, actually. The main pool is large with lanes for lap swimming and swim meets, with a shallow end reminiscent of beach with no sand for swimming lessons and kids... The secondary pool is warm, smaller, wheel-chair accessable I guess - long sloping ramp to walk in - I think 4 1/2 feet deep max, and is intended for therapy and relaxation. I relaxed for quite a while :) To make it even better, they have lots of hours - they're open as early as 5 during the week and stay open late. The surrounding park is large and pretty, and the Wi-Fi equipped library is in the same complex.

I've been to a number of towns with rec centers with pools and out of town / day use rates - and a much larger number of towns without. YMCAs are sometimes available by the day, but some (including, shamefully, the one at home in Lynchburg) are only by membership. What's an out-of-towner to do? (or for that matter, local people who can't really afford the annual membership or have only very limited time to swim.)

Well, if ya can't swim for exercise, pleasure and relaxation, ya can always hike and fish...

I found a tiny - very hidden - roadside? park just outside of Leesburg.


Small parking area, 3 picnic tables, path to the river. I parked and grilled chicken. Quite a number of local people parked and went fishing.







Another day I spent the afternoon at the Olde Izaak Walton Park on the south of town. This used to be the Izaak Walton facility until they moved a bit further from town. Now it's a public park with a pretty pond

and a building and trails to hike. Unfortunately it was raining so I didn't hike them - save that for next time.

There is a house in Fredericksburg, they call the Rising Sun...

This week, being more adjusted to the night shift and not having to have glasses repaired, I found time to explore Fredericksburg. I am hoping to get back there soon: there's lots and lots to explore. Next time, though, I'll take the motorscooter with me - parking the motorhome in Fredericksburg was a serious challenge.

One of the ladies at Curves told me about the Ferry Farm, which is where George Washington spent a major part of his childhood. Not being sure of the route, I stopped at the Visitors Center and as luck would have it I arrived just in time to catch a carriage tour through the town - and have it all to myself. I decided to leave the Ferry Farm for another trip and take the carriage tour. This is definitely the way to get an overview of what Fredericksburg is about - and the weather was absolutely beautiful.

My tour guide, Bob, introduced me to Peggy and Jeff. They are Belgian Draft Horses. Then off we went.

Goolrick's Pharmacy has the oldest continuously operating soda fountain (though I don't remember whether that's in the state or country or what).







And this is the House of the Rising Sun. Well, really it's the Rising Sun Tavern. It was a Proper Tavern. That means that a lady traveling alone could stay there without tarnishing her reputation. There were separate lodgings for ladies. Men liked a Proper Tavern also, as they were not allowed to sleep more than 3 guys to a bed.




Thomas Jefferson and others drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in Fredericksburg in 1777. The legislation established that "no man shall suffer on account of his religious opinions and beliefs". This bill inspired the First Amendment, which was incorporated into the Constitution in 1789 and provided for the separation of church and state. Jefferson considered this one of the three things he was most proud of during a lifetime of great accomplishments. The Thomas Jefferson Religious Freedom Monument (which doesn't show up too well - I was in a moving carriage and couldn't exactly set up the shot) commemorates that event.










This is the other Washington Monument. This one's to George's mother, Mary Washington. George had bought her a house (you'll see it later) in Fredericksburg, and Mary lived there for the last 17 years of her life. She used to walk from there to this site, which she loved, for prayer and meditation, and asked that she be buried there.

The funds to build the monument were collected by women, from women, during the 19th century.



This house took a cannonball hit during the Civil War. If you look closely, you can see it in the shadows between the first floor windows.









This Presbyterian church is the oldest church in Fredericksburg, and was used as a hospital during the Civil War. Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, nursed soldiers here.











This is the block at which slaves were auctioned in antebellum Fredericksburg.










And here is Mary Washington's house. It is now a living history museum. Next time I get to Fredericksburg I hope to check it out.















After the tour, I stopped in at
Pickers' Supply.. It's a wonderful store for musicians. I did not know that Martin made camo guitars! I would think that if you're playing your camo Martin in the woods, maybe the deer wouldn't see you but they'd still hear you. Go figure.

Work Happens

The week that ended 9/23/06 I was in Stafford, VA. I'm sure it's got neat stuff to discover, but we were working long hours at night and I did not discover it. My glasses broke - the lens fell out - so I spent time at the optometrist getting them fixed. I found a park which was not at all picturesque but had a perfectly adequate grill for my burgers. I found a Curves - there are in fact two, but I went to the one near the optometrist. I found a bead store right by the supermarket. Most of my time was spent on important stuff - like sleep. Night sets are like that.

Meanwhile, back on the internet, one of my readers posted a comment - "I am curious about your work." OK, since that's mostly what I did this week, I'll write about it.

The work I do is different each week, which I love. I do supermarket resets.

Some weeks I work with a retail project team. These teams have a regular route of maybe 16 stores relatively close to one another, and visit each one monthly, doing various projects. We'll rearrange a few sections of the store and be gone. For instance, a few weeks ago I spent the week rearranging frozen entrees in four Food Lions.

Other weeks I work with a traveling set team. These teams travel for the purpose of remodeling stores and setting up new stores. We're at one store for 4 days - or 4 nights - and when we're done everything is different. For instance, this week we converted a regular Food Lion into a Bloom store.

Most of the people who do these jobs work for one or another food broker or merchandising company as employees - Acosta, Proctor and Gamble, Advantage, Crossmark, Keebler, Nabisco... These companies also get help from other merchandising companies like the ones I work through. I'm an independent contractor. I get jobs through a kind of temp agency for merchandisers. This gives me more freedom and flexibility, and enables me to travel by motorhome rather than stay in corporate-approved motels. Plus I get to work in many different towns, with many different teams, on many different projects, and even in different chains.

I love my work.



So when you go to the supermarket and the cat food, which has always been on aisle 4, is now on aisle 8 - we did that ;)