Friday the 13th, Full Moon or Poltergeists?

Posted on June 14, 2014June 14, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday was Friday the 13th and they say there was a full moon too. I couldn’t tell you because it was raining. I guess I better plan to live a while longer. The next time we have a full moon on a Friday the 13th it will be 2049. I’ll only be 98. I can live that long.

So full moons bring out the “crazies” and Friday the 13th is bad luck, right? Then today must have been a doozie!

I was working from home today. For once it was kind of quiet. I provide support to 3 real estate agents. One is a big producer. The 2nd one is new and is still very lightly loaded for work and one is just starting a new territory so not much going on there. My busy agent took the day off so I was using the quiet time to catch up on paperwork.

I was just updating the computer when I found myself in the dark (or maybe gloom). The lights went out but not all of them. The Cable box went dark but the computer was still working, Rocky’s heat lamp was still on but the ceiling fan shut off??? I checked the circuit breakers. All fine. I flicked them off and back on just in case. Nothing. My neighbors were all fine. Then everything came back on except the desk lamp. That bulb was black but even a new bulb could not get the light back on. Another lamp bites the dust.

Back in business I became aware of a persistent squeaking noise. I thought it might be the ceiling fan so I shut it off. Still squeaking. I looked outside (my slider was open) but it wasn’t coming from outside. The weird part was that there was nothing where the sound was coming from.

I turned switches on and off and wandered from living room to bedroom to bathroom and back. I checked the refrigerator and the fan over the stove. The sound only got louder. It was starting to bother the cats now as well as me. They were pacing. What could it be?

Finally I started picking up cat toys in the area where the sound was the loudest and that’s when I found it. One of the battery operated cat toys would not shut off. I dug the sound box out of the mouse and tried to smash it with a hammer. It just squeaked louder; now more like a squeal. I finally pried the battery compartment open but it still wouldn’t shut off. I eventually silenced it by cutting the wires to the battery. Now I know what Silence is Golden really means!

So was it Friday the 13th vibes, the full moon or did I have a poltergeist visit yesterday?

Wedding Capital of Tennessee

Posted on June 13, 2014June 13, 2014 by Dusty Roads

One thing I haven’t said too much about is weddings. Probably because I’m not in the market for a wedding venue. But I couldn’t help noticing all the cute little chapels scattered around Gatlinburg.

I looked up weddings in one of Gatlinburg’s brochures and found 12 different Chapels listed along with 5 additional outdoor or cabin venues. The brochure calls Gatlinburg the Wedding Capital of the South…not just Tennessee.

Gatlinburg Chapel is credited with introducing wedding chapels to the area and thousands of weddings have been performed here including Billy Ray Cyrus and Patti Lovelace.

True or not, there are lots of cute, little Chapels dotting the landscape.

Another Vacation Comes to an End

Posted on June 12, 2014June 12, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Check out is 10 am. My flight isn’t until 6 pm. I’ve got a little time to poke around in Pigeon Forge before I head to Knoxville.

If I ever get back here I hope the Skylift will be open. I’ll plan to include Dollywood next time and get to that wonderful restaurant for the escargot and lobster. And I’ll have to go to the Aquarium.

Next trip I’ll have to make that hike to the Grotto Falls and maybe some others because I won’t be recovering from falling off a plane (I hope).

Maybe I’ll take a ride on this huge Ferris Wheel.

But this was the vacation I needed. Quiet and nature, no crowds. It refreshed my heart and soul. Sometimes you need that more than crowds and attractions.

I wonder where I’ll end up next!?

Mayor Stubbs

Posted on June 11, 2014June 11, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I haven’t heard too much about Mayor Stubbs since he recovered from the attach on his life by an assassin dog. So when I ran across this recent article I thought I’d share. He does look like he’s getting old. 🙁

Talkeetna’s feline mayor contemplates retirement

Stubbs the cat has faithfully served his constituents for 17 years, and his owner says it might be time for him to leave Alaska’s political arena.

By: Laura Moss

Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 12:12 PM

A visitor cuddles Mayor Stubbs at Nagley’s General Store. (Photo: Cody Wellons)

I recently snuggled with the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska.

He was friendly and quite diplomatic, making sure to give everyone who’d traveled to see him an equal amount of attention.

In return, we all gave Stubbs, a 17-year-old cat, a few scratches behind the ears. We could be some of the last Talkeetna tourists to do so.

The mayoral Manx has served Talkeetna, which is home to fewer than 900 people, since July 18, 1997 when he was still just a kitten.

It’s rumored that Stubbs was elected mayor following a write-in campaign by voters who opposed the human candidates. However, Talkeetna has no actual mayor and no election — the town is run by a community council.

Nagley's General Store in Talkeetna, Alaska

Stubbs conducts his unofficial mayoral business from Nagley’s General Store, where he can often be found sleeping in a basket or sipping his favorite cocktail: water with a catnip garnish.

On the day we met, Stubbs was doing the rounds in and around the store, greeting his constituents, as well as tourists who were in town for Memorial Day weekend.

Eventually, he curled up beneath a picnic table for a nap.

Having recently turned 85 in cat years, Stubbs may soon retire from life in the political spotlight.

His owner, Lauri Stec, says she may move Stubbs into her house to take a break from the deluge of visitors who flock to the store each summer to see him.

She says Stubbs will likely hate being stuck at the house, but she’s concerned about his health — and his penchant for trouble.

“He’s definitely used up 100 lives,” she recently told the Alaska Dispatch.

In August, Stubbs was mauled by a dog, an attack that left him with a punctured lung, crushed sternum, bruised hips and a deep gash.

He was rushed to a veterinary clinic in Wasilla, Alaska, and eventually made a full recovery.

In addition to surviving the assassination attempt, Stubbs has also lived through being shot with a BB gun and falling into a cold fryer at the café attached to Nagley’s General Store.

If Stubbs leaves the store this summer, his fans — who hail from regions far outside his constituency, from the likes of Turkey, Australia and China — will still be able to keep up with his adventures on Facebook.