It’s been a heck of a week, so I don’t have any cohesive thoughts for you…just random things I found interesting.  I’ve had car trouble, leaking oil hoses and such and the truck has been in the shop for the better part of the last three days.  I had a “rent a wreck” type car that the dealership gave me, but I was afraid to drive it far, so I’ve been “stuck” at the lake.  Oh poor me! LOL

Meanwhile, here’s a couple of photos of life here in Alabama…the first is the local polling place.  Tuesday was a primary runoff election, so it was open for business.

You can’t see in this photo but besides having a big sign on the door that says “Vote Here” there are little signs on either side of the steps pointing inward that say “vote.”  Now I’m pretty sure all the locals knew it was an election day, and where to go, and I really doubt anyone needed the additional signage.  But it was cute!

Those of you not from the south might not know about kudzu.

It grows on anything and everything down here.  It was introduced from Japan in 1876; now it’s a continual battle just to keep it from over taking our homes!  It has a blossom that smells like grape jelly, and if it weren’t so invasive it would be kind of pretty.  It often looks like topiary..only it’s out in the wild.

Wednesday I took the boat out on the lake by myself.  I haven’t been the sole person in a big boat since I was in my teens, ferrying siblings to their swimming lessons across the lake.

Funny how on this trip I’m relearning skills I took for granted 40 years ago.  Being out on the lake was nice, though in the back of my mind I was keeping my fingers crossed that I didn’t have any mechanical problems.  I remember paddling the boat home as a kid, and the lake I’m on now is MUCH bigger!  So is the boat.

I even got the boat back into the boathouse.  I’m glad no one was watching, because it wasn’t pretty, but the boat is unscathed, and the boathouse is still standing.  So there.  I had to wait for the two white ducks to meander across my bow as I idled into the dock…but you know ducks…they were there first so I waited.

I took the jet ski out later in the evening.  The lake is beautiful then, with the low sun making the red clay on the banks just glow.

Husband is flying into Atlanta tomorrow morning, so I’ll have company for the rest of my time down here.  We’re driving back up to Michigan in the next few days.  Katie is at the kennel.

I’m pretty sure she’s forgotten she even has a mama by now.