0029 - Goin' for a ride

We do a lot of driving lately. Well... Mike does. If you just look at the mileage it doesn't seem like we go very far, but with all the curvy roads and hills, it takes a while to get anywhere. Gainesboro is our hub, it's where our land was, and it is the nearest town with a grocery store, bank, etc. We have a little convenience store down the street and they have stuff to get you by, but if you want real groceries you have to go to Foodtown or Walmart. I'm trying to avoid Walmart as much as possible... at Walmart there always seems to be a hole in my pocket, and I prefer to support small local shops rather than putting more money into Walmart's coffers. Plus, if you go to Walmart... you chance an encounter with the people of Walmart... lordy.

Today we went to the electric company to get a refund for the money we paid toward having lines installed. Last week we went to the electric company, went to our land, then immediately went back to the electric company and asked them to cancel the work order. They use a third party to process their credit card payments, so it was a chore for them to refund my money, but props to them, they made the effort. I had to come in while the supervisor could take care of it. Took a while... we were there for about half an hour, but it was well worth our time.

Headed into Carthage to get lunch... we were looking for a mom and pop burger joint... none to be found. How can that be? There is a hamburger and hair shop on the way out of Granville, but we weren't near it. I call it Hairburger, it amuses me. I don't know its real name. We saw two Mexican restaurants... we chose El Rey. Did I not learn from our last trip? No, I did not. Carthage is a larger town - they have not one, but four buildings with the word "attorney' in the name. It sucked. I ordered nachos... what I got was a bunch of chips swimming in a thin cheese-like sauce and it was nasty. Mike got a dish that had a little bit of everything, it was also nasty. Truth be told it's my own damn fault... I could tell by the salsa that I was in for a disappointment. I have decided that if everything works out with the business we hope to buy, we will open a little store and I can make salsa and green sauce, can it in jars and sell it. It will blow everyone's mind. I'm not even that proficient, it's just that theirs sucks SO BAD. I even realized that if we get that business, we could get a food truck and serve lunches during the week and we wouldn't have to get anyone's permission, it would be our property. We could grow a garden and sell produce. We can sell fishing licenses. We can sell stamps. We can provide notary services. We can send faxes. We can run VolTac from there. We could do any-damn-thing we want.

After Carthage, we went to the bank and opened an account so that I can have local access to money, and the ability to write checks. I never got checks for my credit union account, and most people out here prefer cash or checks. Of course, checks that aren't local aren't necessarily worth the paper they're printed on, so that was another consideration. Of the places that accept credit cards, some have a credit card minimum, others charge a 3% surcharge. I get that but it kind of sucks because I'm not used to it... I prefer people to price their stuff accordingly and make that fee transparent to me.

Then we went to Foodtown. Foodtown is decent, I'm used to more selection, and I haven't figured out the rhyme and reason of their layout yet. My one complaint is that they don't have leafy lettuces, just iceberg. Well... two complaints... no Chobani. That's okay... I'm going to work on setting up my AeroGrow and I'll take care of the lettuce myself... the Chobani is a problem that can't be solved. (sigh)

We're trying to eat more meals at home... both because it's cheaper and better for us, and because we're tired of being disappointed by the local fare. I'm having to create menus on the fly, but that's okay because I like it. Tonight was jerk chicken with roasted broccoli and sauteed summer squash. We'll have Cherry Garcia ice cream for dessert in a minute. Used the little grill for the first time. It's good in a pinch, but I think I want a better one. A lid would be a handy thing to have, and it could be sturdier... wind was blowing, and if there was no charcoal in there, I was afraid it might tip over. That said, it did the trick, we were able to grill.

Soon we'll be heading to Louisville to finish Mike's dental work. He's been having issues with his implants and it's hard for him to eat. It's supposedly a two hour trip from here, so we'll try to make it in a day, or if we need to stay the night we'll get a hotel room. It's not worth pulling up stakes for a day and trying to find a spot. Can't wait to eat at Red Star again. And Maker's Mark. Now THAT is good food... Maybe I'm a snob.

That was pretty much our day today. Phone is still frustrating... I can receive calls if I sit the phone in a certain spot by the bed. I have to put it on speaker phone though... if I pick the phone up and put it to my ear the call gets dropped. As we're driving I'll get a signal, and then mid-sentence I'll lose the call. Tried Skype and it was no better. I hear the person I'm talking to just fine, I apparently cut out. I'm glad we have internet, but that's not a solution all of the time... sometimes you do need a phone.