Sunday, August 16, 2015

My Addiction

 

Blairsville, GA (high 82, low 60)

 

I’m sitting here in my recliner with my furry robe on and a blanket on my legs.  It was a nice 60 degrees overnight.  We are loving this cool weather.  Soon, we will need the heat, I’m sure.

Yesterday was a lazy day.  Al is zapped from the poison ivy and the Benadryl he has to take.  He has a big patch of oozing poison ivy on his leg and a few other smaller patches in different spots on his body.  Poor guy.  He’s so sensitive to the stuff and no matter what he does, he seems to get a bad case several times a year.

We did manage a trip to the all you can eat buffet and we wandered around a few shops in town.  We came home and had a nap.

The campground had an ice cream social yesterday and bingo last night. We skipped the ice cream (might have something to do with the fact that we’d been at the all you can eat buffet) but we made it to bingo.  I won a $25 gift certificate at a new seafood restaurant in town.  Al usually wins at bingo, but last night it was my turn.

 

Our previous renters left yesterday.  I had been a little worried their big rig would fit on our site, and still have room for the 4 slides and awning.  It turned out that they fit just fine, don’t you think?

 

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We have some new people coming today with a big toyhauler.   Sure hope they fit.  :)

 

I finished my 2nd Appalachian Trail thru-hiker book. I seem to be addicted to these stories. Each one I’ve read is so different and with a totally new perspective.  I really enjoyed  “Hiking Through” by Paul Stutzman and was sad when I finished.  I  would recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading about thru-hiking.  It’s amazing what they go through to do this very difficult hike of roughly 2180 miles that takes months to do. They encounter rain, cold, snow, heat, blisters, near starvation, loneliness, extremely strenuous climbs and still they go on.  I love to read these books, but I have no desire to hike that trail. It’s too tough for me. It seems a common thread is that they have lost a loved one and go to heal.   Sherry told me about a new book about a guy who hiked it with his 8 year old son.  I’m not sure how I think about that.  It seems to me it might be child abuse. I didn’t like the couple Sherry posted about on her blog that had the puppy with them.  Dog abuse!

The library is closed today and I wanted another AT thru-hiking book to read so I bought a Kindle version from Amazon.  It was only $4.99 so I splurged.  I think I am addicted to thru-hiker stories!  Isn’t it nice how you can search Amazon and have the book in seconds?  I don’t buy many books, but once in a while we do.

 

We were out on a golf cart ride the other night, doing our usual bear search.  No bear so far, but we do see quite a few deer.

It was getting pretty close to dark when we saw this group of about 4 deer.  The picture was  blurry because it was dusk, but I thought this was a great shot anyway.  They were getting a little frisky.

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The following are other photos taken from different golf cart rides.

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This is Pete and Jean.  Pete is our electrician friend who so kindly helped replace the 50 amp breaker on our rental site.   Their golf cart is a Cricket.  They can be folded up and I’ve seen them fit in the back of a Honda Crv.  He kept up with the rest of us.

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We found a cute wall decoration for the cabin. Isn’t this cute?

 

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We bought two, the larger one and a baby.  They look pretty cute in the cabin.

 

Years ago, we bought a pair of loppers.  We weren’t sure when or where we bought them, but they took a beating when we owned our 11 acres in south Georgia.  This year, we finally broke them when cutting a large branch.  We figured we’d need to buy another pair, but when we looked at the new ones, Al noticed the tag said they had a lifetime guarantee.  Yay!

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They are Fiskars brand.  I went online, filled out a warranty form, sent them a picture of the damaged loppers and a few days later, we had a brand new pair of loppers identical to the old ones (but for the broken handle). 

So, the moral of the story is, if you have any Fiskars products, don’t throw them away if they break!  Great company.  Thanks Fiskars!

12 comments:

  1. Now thats great customer service, you do get what you pay for.

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  2. I have always used their scissors. Had several pair as an artist.

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  3. Al may have to start wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts while in the area to protect himself.
    Those young bucks are vying for the rites of mating.
    Can understand making those long treks after losing a loved one. I used to ride my racing bike doing over a hundred miles in a day plus my job.
    If you have access to a shop those loppers can be repaired.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  4. It's so beautiful there! What a bummer, though, that you live in an area that has poison ivy. Isn't there something Al can take that will help him during the poison ivy season? Poor guy! Good job finding that life-time warranty! And good to know about Fiskar - I have a bunch of their scissors for craft cutting. I've read a couple of those "hiking" books and really enjoyed them, too. They go through SOOOO much, it takes a lot of determination, for sure. :)

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  5. Can you check out e-books from your library? I just downloaded "Hiking Through" from my library. It's nice because e-books are available 24/7 and can even be put on hold like regular library books. Carol

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  6. I know how addicting certain books can be. Have you watched the Alone series on History channel? It's addicting as well :)

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  7. Very nice customer service. I'll look for their products if I need new tools. I think the couple with the puppy are going to end up carrying him for most of their week of hiking. As for the 8 year old, he's the one who wanted to do the AT so I'd like to read the book and see how it went. I too went through a phase where I read every one I could get my hands on in the early 2000's. There are a lot more now. Try to find some by women.

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  8. There are 12 step programs for folks like you... :cD

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  9. A Walk in the Woods is what got me addicted also! I've read so many books on the AT since then. The movie comes out in September, I can't wait to see it. Robert Redford and Nick Nolte are perfect for it!
    I'm doing the Maryland section next Fall, when I'm 55. My son lives there and is hiking it with me. If I really love it, I'll do the whole thing (God Willing) the next year.
    Do you read TrailJournals.com? Go there right now and click on Appalachian Trail. It's real time hikers and their journals. They are so amazing and inspirational. Most are almost to Katahdin so it's really exciting. I especially love Red Panda, BonBon, Outlier, and Lavender (and her husband, Count). I've gone back and read their stories from the beginning. Most update daily. You're welcome for that new addiction lol

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    1. Thanks MaryBe. We hope to be able to see A Walk in The Woods here when it comes out. It will be fitting since some of it was filmed here. I will check out the thru hikers you mentioned. I just discovered the trailjournals site recently. Will check out the ones you mentioned. I'm wondering if any of the southbound hikers are near GA now?

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    2. The southbound hikers are marked southbound, so they are easy to find!

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    3. Airlock is another favorite

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