I don't mind the rat race but I could do with a little more cheese.

I'm a-leavin' on a jet plane (puddle-jumper, actually) for the wilds of Alabama and Arkansas and not-so-wilds of Tennessee for an extended weekend visit to my hometown of Hughes, Arkansas. It seems that the student body of the school district is so small that the district is being consolidated with Forrest City -- a community about thirty miles away -- and some of the locals began plotting an All Years' Reunion for the alumni of Hughes High School before the closing of our alma mater. While I didn't graduate from HHS due to our move to Germantown, TN, I did attend the school from kindergarten through ninth grade. Add to that, my church is celebrating its centennial. The congregation decided that they would take advantage of the influx of former residents and host a special service and luncheon to commemorate the occasion.

Well. Besides my yearly trip to visit my father and his family who live an hour or so north of my hometown, the only other reasons for going to Hughes have been funerals. While it's sad that the school is being shut down, a reunion will be a fun event and the centennial celebration even more so. How could I resist?

The RSVP list was posted this week and I'm positively giddy about who will be attending! Old school chums, my sixth grade teacher (whom I adored), my algebra teacher (who was a terror, but we respected and learned SO MUCH from her; also? she was my father's, his brothers', and his sisters' algebra teacher as well), a whole mess of my besties, so many of my folks' besties, and my dad, uncle, and aunt. Not that I necessarily needed it, but this will be a lovely closure of my childhood.

Also? I get to spend several days with Mom and Pete at the lake house. Yay!

Last Saturday we took off for a week of fun which was unlike any other vacation to my folks' house. For one, no one was home when we arrived. We expected this as Mom and Pete were down at their under construction lake house in NW Alabama and baby brother John was still in Knoxville to finish up summer school exams. With that knowledge, we took our time getting to the house and enjoyed a quiet evening and morning.

On Sunday morning we pulled out our bikes and explored the Wolf River Greenway which winds its way along Wolf River/Humphreys Boulevard only a few streets away from Mom's neighborhood. It was lovely under the cooling trees and we enjoyed ourselves immensely despite the 90F temps at 9:30am.

On Monday morning I got brave and rode further afield: all the way from Germantown to mid-town Memphis, as a matter of fact, via the Greater Memphis Greenline which encompasses the Wolf River Greenway and the Shelby Farms Greenline as well. The eastern end is absolutely gorgeous with scenic overlooks of the Wolf River and little "learning areas" about the aquifers, local flora and fauna, and history of the Wolf River. The section through Shelby Farms was also picturesque but that trail is in the open unlike the Wolf River's tunnel of trees. The Memphis Greenline proper picks up next to the prison (whee) and continues a straight, tree-lined path next to the north loop of I-240 for about six miles.

I set off at 9am when the temperature was a mere 80F. I took several breaks for shade/water/sunscreen break and made it to the end of the Greenline in mid-town at 11:30am. I'd ridden 17 miles at that point and there was no way I could make the round trip back to Mom's in the heat of the day. zipmeister and John lived only a couple of miles away from the trail's end and John said I could crash at their place until Hubbyfink picked me up. After checking Googlemaps, I set off for their house and got to ride on some of the more frightening (because of high speed traffic) streets in mid-town.

The temperature had risen to near 100 degrees and I was in full sun at this point. I hadn't quite run out of water, but by the time I got to their neighborhood heat exhaustion was setting in. I got lost several times because I could no longer read the map correctly. Finally I realized that I should use the turn-by-turn directions and I made it to Scott & John's house, a mere two miles away from the trail's end, at noon. (They, of course, were starting to panic that something had happened to me since it shouldn't have taken 30 minutes to ride two miles.)

They plied me with water and I collapsed on their cool concrete floor. Hubbyfink brought me a change of clothes and I took a cool shower before we headed out for lunch and a bit of shopping with the guys. I made a full recovery and enjoyed my bragging rights to friends and family.

There are a few things I noticed during the two rides. Everybody was ~so~ friendly. Of the hundred or so bikers, joggers, and walkers I passed or overtook, all but a handful smiled, waved, or gave a verbal greeting. Welcome to the south. Also? It's ~so~ flat. That's great because there are few hills to climb and that sucks because there are few hills to coast down. I giggled when I saw warning signs for slippery switchbacks -- these signs are plentiful on the Mount Vernon Trail the farther south you go -- but the switchbacks on the Wolf River Greenway were gentle and mostly flat curves. Bless.

One of the more fun things to happen was meeting Cort of FIX MEMPHIS while shopping for a new saddle and lube for Scott's mountain bike at the Highland branch of Peddler Bike Shop. The clerk and I geeked about Memphis' burgeoning bicycle infrastructure and I mentioned I'd been keeping up with the growth via several blogs. He asked which ones I read and I rattled off several of the blogs in the "Memphis Area Blogs" sidebar. He put his hand out and introduced himself as one of the authors of the above blog. That was pretty damn cool.

More later...

I'm heading to Memphis this afternoon so I can attend my great aunt's funeral in Arkansas tomorrow. It's okay... she was 94 and had been in poor health and bedridden for a couple of years. I'm so glad that I got to see her when Hubbyfink and I decided on the spur of the moment to visit my dad's cousins and aunt and uncle when we were in Arkansas a few years ago. I'm going home to see family who I haven't seen since childhood.

More devastating, though, was finding out last night that tirloch died yesterday afternoon. He was in good spirits at the SCA event he stewarded two and a half weeks ago and underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon two weeks ago. His family and a slew of friends descended upon carthew's house last night to support her and get her through the first evening. I'm so sorry that I won't be around to help this week but I know Hubbyfink and our friends will be there for her.

Hubbyfink and I spent last week in the company of family and friends in Germantown and Arkansas. There was many a cookout, lots of time spent splashing about in the pool, playing with nephews, and a couple cut-throat games of Scrabble. We spent a fair amount of time with zipmeister. Mom and I spent an even fairer amount of time shopping. Johnny's twentieth birthday was last Tuesday and he enjoyed a pretty rocking party, complete with brand new ping pong table.

Last Thursday, we visited my dad in Arkansas for the day and then dropped in on relatives in my "hometown" of Heth (which is less a town and more a railroad crossing in the middle of absolutely nowhere). Hubbyfink met my 94-year-old great uncle Vance and great aunt Bernie and second cousins JoBelle, Bess, and Sid. I haven't seen any of them in about twenty, maybe twenty-five, years.

JoBelle now lives in my childhood home. ( Memory lane. )

zipmeister, his boyfriend, a couple other friends, and my brother beaznuts came over on our last night in town and we all stayed up very late playing Munchkin. My brother fell under Munchkin's spell and spent much of the following day searching for it in local comic book/game shops. Now he's trying to teach Mom and his wife how to play.

We got an extra day of visiting, thanks to the way the 4th of July fell on the calendar, and I am grateful for that. It still wasn't enough time with loved ones, but that's what "next time" is for.

It's been a lovely visit. Mom and I got lots of quality time together and not all of it was spent harvesting our Farmville crops. I even got to spend a fair amount of time with the siblings. We're all usually so rushed during these visits. I'm not sure what made the difference this time.

beaz and Melinda's baby still hasn't arrived, but he's dropped since Friday night. She's been carrying him really high and didn't look all that pregnant, to be honest. Tonight, she looked oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-pop-at-any-moment pregnant. Funny what a couple of days will do. She's still scheduled for induction Tuesday morning.

Mom and I forced Pete and zipmeister to go see Starry Nights. Too bad everybody else in Memphis had the same idea. Good thing we took Zippy's Ford Focus hybrid; we might have otherwise run out of gas while sitting on Walnut Grove for 2.5 hours just to get into the park. Yeah, we should've bailed. We're a stubborn bunch. I refuse to say whether or not the wait was worth the display.

It's been tough, but I've kept up with my schoolwork while out of town. Mom's cats have been just as helpful blocking the light on my still lifes as mine are. Good kitties.

Left Memphis at 6:50 last night and got to Charlotte, NC with no problems. As soon as I deboarded, I heard the gate agent announce that the flight to Dulles was overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to give up their seats. ( I almost slept in Charlotte. )

Bear's birthday brunch was a LOT of fun. Mom and I made cheesy hashbrown casseroles and fruit salad in a watermelon boat topped with a turtle (I'll post a photo later). Bear got fun toys and lots of books. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves at the party and there was just the right amount of food.

Mom and I ran lots of errands after the party on Saturday but didn't sneak in our pedicures or trip to DSW until Sunday. I'm so glad that I chose to leave late on Sunday. It gave me what felt like a whole extra day to visit and play with my family. I'm excited about heading back in about three months to meet my next nephew.

Graduation was grand. We hollered and cheered for Johnny when he walked across the stage. Bellevue Baptist Church, in which the ceremony was held, is frickin' hyooooge. Seriously. We walked in and the foyer looked like a fancy hotel complete with concierge desk and a bookstore/gift shop.

Hyooooge.

We all retired to the Exeter Chilli's for a celebratory dinner. I forgot, when I ordered my margarita, that this Chilli's is big on Happy Hour and that Happy Hour lasts long into the night. This means that for every margarita -- or beer, as Hubbyfink discovered -- one orders, two appear on the table. Three and a half margaritas later, I could barely see straight.

So drunk.

Of course, I'm now sporting these *spectacular* scrapes on my left shin and right knee plus bruising on my right bicep from falling off the curb en route to Mom's car. I was laid out flat and still don't know how I managed not to faceplant into the asphalt. In my defense, the sidewalk drops half a step about four inches from the curb and there's nothing marking that drop. Pete, who drank iced tea all night, nearly tumbled after me when he raced forward to try to catch me. Mom and Pete wanted to drag me back into the restaurant to complain but I (1) didn't want to make a scene and (2) was drunk. Instead, I crawled into the back of Mom's car after making sure I hadn't torn my dress and then had a little cry.

Hubbyfink forced advil and lots of water on me when we got back home and Pete found the hydrogen peroxide. My shin is stinging like nobody's business and the muscles in both legs ache. Hubbyfink is sleeping in the once and future guest room tonight so I can take over our bed in the den and kick my legs as much as I need during the night. This wound will make the pool interesting tomorrow.

On the bright side, I have four containers of Pancho's cheese dip for courtney_d_h and myself and a spiffy little cloth cooler in which to transport those dips back to Virginia. Mmmm.... Pancho-y goodness.

I hear that my buddies at home had a frost warning last night. It's been downright chilly here in the mid-south since Saturday night. I'm so glad I brought a couple pairs of jeans and a sweater. We're supposed to be back in the mid-80s tomorrow or Thursday and both Hubbyfink and I are looking forward to the heat. It's been too chilly for him to hang out in the Florida room and read; that's his favorite thing to do when we visit and it was way too cold for that during our Christmas visit.

Last night Hubbyfink, zipmeister and I helped beaznuts move boxes from his storage unit to the new apartment. The apartment is gorgeous and has a similar layout to Hubbyfink's and my old apartment. Beaz and wife will live on the ground floor and overlook a lake full of wildlife. I got to work on my fear of duck teeth last night. There's a family of mallards with four puffy baby ducklings who live near the tree at the edge of the lake. They introduced themselves to us as we lazed on Beaz's patio. (Okay, pirategirleee, baby ducks are pretty darn cute.) But then we heard a nasally honk from not too far away. A family of geese with seven poofy baby goslings waddled up and made a beeline for the patio, the parents hissing at us the whole time. We hissed back. Beaz ran inside for a moment and returned with a bag of Cheez-Its. Who knew that ducks and geese liked Cheez-Its? Those ducklings were adorable as they'd barrel down the yard for a cracker and then get startled away from a gosling which was twice their size.

I'm no longer afraid of duck teeth. Goose tongues, however, are a completely different matter. *shudder*.

Beaz's wife (his wife!) made us a thank-you dinner while Beaz forced us to watch "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Bachelorette". Now I understand what kind of people keep those shows on the air.

I'm so glad we've stayed the extra day. The severe weather promised by the weather-guessers hasn't arrived but the wind's been very high and wind advisories throughout the state would have made crossing the full length of Tennessee in our lightweight car an unfun trip. So, instead of being blown about by Mother Nature, Hubbyfink and I viewed The Baroque World of Fernando Botero exhibit at the Brooks Museum. I read about the exhibit in last week's Memphis Flyer and then Mimi gave me two magnets based on paintings in the exhibit. It was obviously a sign.

Hubbyfink wasn't sure about what he was getting into, but once he saw the bronze "Rape of Europa" (caution: image is huge) in the front courtyard, his interest was piqued. I'm no art critic but I know what I like and there were several paintings and a few bronzes which I'd be happy to have live in my home. Hubbyfink was intrigued by Botero's corpulent figures. We're both kicking ourselves for not purchasing the exhibit book, especially since the museum forbade photography.

We were also delighted to discover a not-insignificant medieval art collection which contained pieces we'd never seen depicted. Hubbyfink spent a great deal of time examining a mid-fifteenth century German statue of Gabriel made of wood. The armour detail was absolutely stunning. Again, no photography allowed so we can't share the wonder of that statue with our history-loving friends. Poop. Hubbyfink suggested coming back with La Belle letterhead when next we visit...

We wandered through the neighborhoods of the historic Evergreen district to the west of Overton Park and then around the artsy Cooper-Young district looking at several 1920s bungalows I'd found in the real estate section of the Flyer earlier. Ah, bliss.

Now we're waiting for Mom and Aunt Trish to get back home so we can all go out for last-night-in-town sushi. Yay!

Things are improving around the Mid-South Home for Disease & Decrepitude. Mom and I are both improving and neither of us has needed cold medicine since this morning. Little brother beaznuts not only left his deathbed, but also went to work. His doctor gave him gooooood drugs. Aunt Trisha's still sniffly, but she's huddled under a blanket watching a movie with Mom downstairs. Somehow Hubbyfink, who manages to be patient zero for most illnesses, has remained unscathed through this round of colds. zipmeister, however, is not doing so well.

Hubbyfink and I met Zippy, Jim, Becky, Andy and Carol at Huey's for lunch. Zippy had to leave the restaurant early because of severe abdominal pain. I had hoped he'd go to a minor medical place or call his doctor boyfriend or something and I called his cell on our drive back home to see how he was doing. His dad answered and said that he was being looked at by an emergency room doctor. Skip hasn't called back with an update; I'm trying not to bite off what tiny slivers of nails I have in worry. I want my best friend to be okay.