Finally Made It

After six weeks of saying I was going to go, I finally made it up to Batesville this morning. 

I don't know why I went, or why my brain was so insistent that I go to Batesville, but for some reason, it wouldn't let me rest until I went to Batesville.  So I gave in and went to Batesville. 

I hope my brain is happy now. 

The first thing I did when I got there was to go to Walmart to see if they had any of the keto candy that my local Walmart was out of.  Alas, they were out of it, too so I guess I'll have to do without this week.  Then I wandered into the Christmas section, where I picked up this cute little light up Santa. 

Full disclosure, they may have these in the local WM, but I don't remember seeing them.  Anyway, it reminds me of the one my Mamaw gave my younger brother one year that he absolutely loved-- only his was bigger and held a black bag of toys, and wasn't LED, obviously.  I think he still has it somewhere. 

I also picked up a new flag, because my old one is getting pretty ratty.  

Old Glory is now back in its proper place, and the old one is ready to be respectfully retired, as soon as the wildfire danger has passed. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Deciding I'd spent enough money at Wally World, I headed across the road to Lowe's where I didn't spend a single penny.  I didn't really intend to, but I wanted to look at the patio stone things I'd been looking at in the app.  I thought if I could see them in person, it would help me make up my mind.  

I really liked the ones that look kind of like gray cobblestones, so I think that's what I'm going to go with.  Now, I just need to figure out how many I'm going to need -- and hope they don't get discontinued before I get my patio as big as I ultimately want it.

While I was there, I took a moment to look at some dishwashers.  Mind has been out for a few years now.  Oh, it still works, but the hose that goes to the top spray thing has come disconnected, so nothing on the top rack will get cleaned. I've been reluctant to get a new one because with it being just me, I don't make all that many dirty dishes.  I always knew I'd get it replaced eventually, because having a functioning dishwasher will increase the re-sale value of the house, but what with all the overtime we've been working and assurances from The Big Man Up Front that said overtime will continue into the new year, I'm thinking eventually might just be sooner rather than later. 

First, I want to get someone to come unhook and haul off the old dishwasher so I can clean the space really well, and try to find where the mice are getting into the house.  I'm pretty sure it's under there somewhere.  If I can just find it and plug it up somehow, I might finally have a mouse-free house.  

But I digress...I found a couple of models I like that were under $500, so it looks like I will be getting a new dishwasher soon--ish.  

My final stop while I was up in Batesville was the Mounds, as per my usual. Well, my usual since I discovered that they were there. It's been a minute since I've been up there, and look what they're building.

  

A pavilion and museum!  Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything about when it's supposed to be completed and opened.  When they do open it, you can bet your sweet bippy I'll be up there. 

In other news, I almost built a little fire in the grate this morning, but decided against it because it was supposed to get up into the mid 70s.  And since we're due for a warming trend, I went ahead and put all the plants back outside.  They'll have a few more days of sunshine before I bring them in for the winter. 

While I was doing that, I noticed my mums are in full bloom.  

And I still have a few tenacious Cosmos hanging on for dear life. 

And finally, I brought the hummingbird feeder in, broke it down and disinfected it before putting it away until spring, which always makes me a bit sad.  Which segues nicely into me desperately needing to get a shepherd's hook to hang my regular bird feeder on.  Right now it's hanging from a hook in the eave of my shed, where the squirrels have easy access to it.   They'll clean out 25 lbs of feed in a day.  I want a shepherd's hook so I can grease the pole and discourage the squirrels.  

I looked at some in Lowe's, but they weren't what I wanted.  They all seemed too flimsy to hold the weight of a loaded bird feeder.  Looks like I'll have to order one from Amazon.  

Aaand this is both the blessing and curse of modern technology.  While I was typing this, I popped over to Amazon and ordered a two-pack of them-- one for my bird feeder and one for the suet holder.  They're supposed to get here Sunday, and I need to slow down spending money if I want that new dishwasher.  

But one of the things I ordered is Cody's Christmas gift.  

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.