Confessions of a One-Track Mind

I didn't even turn on the computer this morning, just got dressed (zebra print suit and gold blouse) and got going.

First stop: library, where I took care of $1.40 in fines and checked out the new Sharon McCrumb and the last Dick Francis (and son). Good times ahead.

I took the route through the village---growled a bit at the slooow idjit in the Buick ahead of me---they got out of my face, finally, and then I got a huge shock when I discovered they leveled the old city hall. They leveled the old post office and built a big, vulgar new city hall on the site a year or so ago, but I'm stunned that they didn't repurpose the old one. Yes, downtown always needs parking, but---my inner architecture slut is devastated.

Went to a branch of my bank to make a deposit, and the teller very kindly offered me a free bottle of chilled water---it's a warmish afternoon, about 85F---so I accepted with thanks.

From there, I hit the Entenmann's day-old bread store. Because I am trying very hard to make better food choices, I didn't get any actual Entenmann's products, instead getting a loaf of Health Nut bread and two jumbo packs of Sandwich Thins (Both are by Arnolds).

I haven't shopped at Publix much lately, but there's one not far from the bread store, more or less on my way home, so I stopped in there and got the usual staples, and some Morningstar Farms spicy black bean patties. Them, on the Sandwich Thins with a bit of mustard and maybe a slice of swiss cheese? Mmm, nomnomnom!

Returning home with my loot, I was alarmed to see a tag hanging from my front doorknob. "This is never good," I said to myself as I approached it with trepidation. It turned out to be from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: "Please Help Prevent Exotic Fruit Fly Outbreaks in Florida". Basically, they've placed a fruit-fly trap on my grapefruit tree. Hey, at least they're not trying to get money out of me or turn off a utility.

I got an email from GK, saying she got me a subscription to Entertainment Weekly. A nice surprise! I may glance at it from time to time, but very seldom do I buy it. Per her, it was to help a Girl Scout who was selling subscriptions; in my day, we just sold cookies---at $1 a box.

Now, y'all are up to date on my fabulous life. Thrilling, huh?


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Describe your alternate life (Snagged from karaokegal)

After my dad died, I didn't make any major purchases or commit to any changes for six months. I got laid off from my job, and took that as a sign that maybe it was time to do something more with my life. After talking it over with my brother, I put most of the contents of the house into storage, found a renter for it, and took off in Dad's 1974 Comet for points west.

I've always been crafty; learning how to solder for my last couple jobs was fun. I've always loved shiny jewelery. It seemed natural to find a silversmith to apprentice myself to.

I settled down in Taos, NM. I lived frugally; I rented a small cabin on the outskirts of town, grew my own produce, took long walks in my spare time, exploring various ghost towns and flea markets. I incorporated found objects into my projects, and began to earn a reputation for myself. that includes my reputation as a clothes-horse: I got down to a size 10 and have kept the weight off for almost 25 years now.

During the long desert nights, I wrote a novel, a time-traveling Victorian western, that was made into a movie with Kurt Russell as the rugged hero, and later became a long-running TV series.

This brought me enough money that I was able to buy some land and build a house. It's an awesome place, constructed to use solar energy for heating in the winter, but still cool in the summer. There are solar panels which provide my electrical needs. Very New Age-Frank Lloyd Wright. My walk-in closet is the same size as my bedroom, and houses my collection of custom-made cowboy boots and a lot of hats.

I met the love of my life at Burning Man. The tall, dark-haired man in a blue plaid flannel shirt and jeans was studying a pair of cufflinks made from the rowels of an old pair of spurs. When he asked me about them, I knew he was the one. There was something about the resonance of his voice that echoed in the canyons of my soul.

He's a former professional athlete who managed his money well and started a consulting company that critiques the hotel industry. He travels a lot for business, and I go with him as often as I can. We've been married for 15 years, and the romance is still there.

My jewelery has been featured in the Sundance catalog and appeared in major motion pictures and on the red carpet. I'm working on another novel, a dark comedy about what might have happened in the life I left behind so many years ago.

The working title is "Tropical Depression".


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But seriously? This is a big kid's toy, not something for children. $900 for a Bauhaus dollhouse? That's not quite up there with $265K for a stuffed palomino, but still.

A really cool example of something for people with more money than they know what to do with.


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