Off to Cheraw! (And other streams of consciousness.)

Well, tomorrow I'm off to the metropolis of Cheraw. Hopefully I can catch up with Maggie (a dear friend of mine whom I've not seen in, oh, about 7 years!) and her family at a cookout on Saturday. I so miss having girlfriends!!! I don't have many, but the ones I do have, I hold very near & dear to my heart. Maggie was one of the people I went to Key West with, and we had the best time!!! Yes, I know there were some, ahem, bumps, in the road with one of the other parties, but what I remember are the fun times! In moving, I ran across my Key West photo album, and there's one where we're all smiling, and that's what I remember. I'll be sure to take the digital camera so I can post some photos of Patrick's second home.

On a completely different note, Mouse is being a bit of a pest right now. I'm not sure why, but she's in & out of the vertical blinds (which is not a quiet or a pleasant sound), trying to get to the windows that have the lovely aluminum blinds (again, not a quiet or a pleasant sound), pawing the heck out of the glass front on the TV stand...running around the house. I may need to see if I have any more kitty sedatives. If not for her, for me.

Our next door neighbor's "Bark-A-Tron 2000" has been going for some time tonight. Normally I wouldn't think too much about it, but I think the lady that owns him is old; we met her (or, rather, Patrick did) this past weekend, and she seemed fairly frail, so I just have an image of her falling & not being able to get up, and Lassie (or Fluffy, or Precious, or whatever his/her/it's name is) is frantically trying to let Timmy know that she's fallen and can't get up. And I just keep turning up the volume on the TV. But, not to worry--Bark-A-Tron has quieted, so either our neighbor is fine, or...well, Barky finally gave up. (Really, if I thought there was a real problem, I'd walk myself, kitty pajama pants & all) to her door & knock to see if I can see/hear anything, and failing that, would call 911. My Mom taught me right.)

It's been so hot here. The newspapers are saying that we're near record highs; it's normally in the high 80s around this time of year. Yesterday weather.com was saying the "real feel" temp was 101. I think in Cheraw it was 105...not fun. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 97 here, and tomorrow the high is predicted to be 102. That's not "real feel"--that's actual temperature ("real feel" temp is projected to be around 110. No, that's not a typo--One Hundred Ten Degrees.). Right now, weather.com is saying that, at 11:25 p.m., at the last update, it's 84, but feels like 93. 93 degrees. At 11:30 at night. That's insane. So, by the time I get in to Cheraw, it may have cooled down to 92 or so.

Anyway, if all goes well, the "cool snap" that's supposed to move through (or "cool wave" as Patrick was calling it. The reverse of a "heat wave.") should be here (or there) this weekend. Saturday is showing 87, and Sunday is 85. Thank goodness....because Sunday we're planning on going to Carowinds. It's a great park, pretty much South of Charlotte, on the NC/SC border. It's supposed to be 81 on Sunday in Charlotte, which makes me very, very happy. The thought of standing in line for the Borg Assimilator in 100 degree temperatures makes me want to cry. Or pout at the very least.

Speaking of, the Borg Assimilator is just one of 6 coasters they have. They have a stand-up coaster; two wooden coasters (one of which is a racing coaster, and you can choose whether you go backwards or forwards); a suspended steel coaster; a sit down steel coaster...and the Borg Assimilator, which is a coaster that straps you in & tips you down so that you're facing the ground.

Here's a link to a quick 25 second commercial for the ride: http://www.thrillnetwork.com/albums/album12/PC0403.mov (Sorry, not sure how to do hyperlinks in the blog, so just cut & paste...and if you're on a slow dial up connection, yes, it does take a bit of time. But it looks pretty cool.)

I think there's a good chance I'm gonna pee my pants when they strap me in. I can't wait.