License Plate Decals.....

There's no way I can write this blog post without coming across as a heathen, but I'll just have to take that chance.

In fact, I tossed around several titles that were worthy of a heathen, but my brain is on strike tonight and I couldn't come up with a good one.

About thirty years ago or so, our state adopted the practice of displaying the name of a registered car owner's county of residence on the license plate. I thought it was kind of cool at the time, for some reason. I had a friend who didn't want to display her county on her tag, but then she got stopped (her husband was a copy - irony much?) and the policeman informed her that the fine for not displaying one's county decal at the bottom of the license plate was $25. That was years ago... it may be more than that now.

Then the state came up with about a gazillion different specialty tags, and SOME of those don't have a space for a county decal. Mine, for instance, says "Share the Road" at the bottom instead of my county. That's not why I bought that specialty plate; I wanted to support cycling initiatives in my state and I naively believed the extra money I pay every year would go to those initiatives. If my "Share the Road" license plate had a space for the county decal, I would still buy it. It's not that big a deal to me. I don't really get why some people don't want to display the county in which they live. Wait a minute.... never mind.... some counties in Georgia are places you definitely DON'T want to be from.

Then I started noticing that instead of the county decal on some plates, the phrase "In God We Trust" appeared. That's cool, if that's what they want their tags to say. To each his own.

In fact, there was a tremendous snafu when officials had a design contest to choose the next Georgia plates. It seems some of the designs had the optional "In God We Trust" phrase on them, and others didn't, leading some of the people voting on the designs to think they were choosing whether or not to have the phrase on the license plate.

Good. Lord.

Pun intended.

As an afterthought.

And here's where I turn into a heathen. If it was so important for drivers to display the county of residence on their license plates that law enforcement would IMPOSE A FINE for failure to do so, why isn't it that important anymore? Who decided that "In God We Trust" could take the place of a county decal?

Now I've heard there is legislation pending requiring the phrase to appear on ALL Georgia license plates. Please don't test my (limited) grasp of civics by asking in what stage this legislation might be; for all I know, some state representative mentioned it in passing and it isn't even pending at all.

But...

What if I don't want my religious views (general statement though it may be) displayed on my car? Is my only other option not to have a vehicle registered in the State of Georgia? (And how long before they make me put it on my bike as well?)

I'm not here to talk about my religious views (or lack thereof), and I don't feel that strongly about religion one way or another to warrant an argument, a personal attack, or a condemnation of my moral character (or lack thereof). But I do acknowledge there are people out there who DO feel strongly enough about the matter that it will generate some genuine discomfort to have to wear such a public statement that the drivers may or may not agree with.

I realize it's also on our currency, but since I never have that long enough to take a good look at the phrase, for some reason that doesn't bother me at all.

It's not like we had this giant blank space on our license plates and someone decided it needed to be filled in, and hey, our national motto would do just fine, because there are too many folks in Alabama who would never understand "E pluribus unum." (I'm sorry...I couldn't help myself.) That space on our license plates HAD some information on it, information that someone at some point thought was vital enough that a driver who didn't display it would have to pay a penalty. But the name of one's county can be omitted if one chooses to proclaim to the world "In God We Trust." Whether or not that person believes it.

No one asked ME what a good phrase might be to wear on the backs of our cars. (We aren't one of the states that require license plates back and front. Who makes these rules, anyway?)

For me it would be a toss-up between "Only the Good Die Young" and "How 'Bout Them Dawgs."

Oh, and while I'm being a heathen, I also intended to make fun of the marquee (is that what it's called when it's a church?) in front of a church near our house. But I'm not going to tell you what it is until I have a picture of it, because A) it loses something in translation; and B) you might not believe that it's really there unless I document it.

Eerie Timing......

I recorded this video at the last home UGA game of the year last Saturday, mainly for Katydid. I apologize for the less-than-optimal quality of the video. It's hard to film and watch at the same time, and I forgot a couple of times what I was attempting to do.

It's a UGA tradition, playing the "Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation" during the pregame activities of a home game. A lone trumpet plays the opening notes from the southwest corner of the stadium. (I think perhaps this particular soloist succumbed to nerves at the idea of playing in front of 92,746 people.) Then the videoboard shows clips from games in the distant past as well as the current season while the entire Redcoat Marching Band plays the rest of the Battle Hymn.

I recorded this because the video is narrated by the legendary voice of the Georgia Bulldogs for 42 years, Larry Munson, from 1966 until 2008 when he retired.

If you're not a Dawg fan, there isn't enough blog space in the world for me to explain the Hobnail Boot call, "Run Lindsay!" (when Munson broke his chair in his excitement), or "My God Almighty, he just ran right through two men...My God, a freshman!" There are examples all over the internet if you're curious enough to go listen. I look them up myself from time to time just to hear that gravelly voice again. I think Larry Munson was among the first radio announcers who threw the rulebook out the window when it came to remaining unbiased while calling a football game. He was Georgia Bulldog through and through, and he didn't mind letting it be known even while he was calling a game.

And yesterday that gravelly voice was silenced forever. Larry died yesterday at his home in Athens at the age of 89. The Bulldog Nation mourns his passing, but we are appreciative of what he brought to our team, our school, our city, and our state during his tenure as the voice of the Bulldogs.

If I had suspected he might not survive the week, I might have tried a little harder on my videography.

Crock Pot Candy Flop.......

A while back I wrote a blog post about crock pot candy, which I've made for several years, particularly during the holidays, and I included the recipe. The recipe was included in my bank statement back when A) that bank was in existence; B) they included recipes; and C) we got statements in the mail.

It is a fool-proof recipe. Unless a fool starts fooling with it.

I should know better than to experiment in the kitchen. I consider it a miracle of epic proportions if something turns out right when I FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS, so experimenting should be out of the question. Especially with something that turns out perfectly every time. But leave something well enough alone? Oh no... not me.

I decided this recipe, already delicious and decadent enough, needed a couple of additional ingredients. So I dumped shredded coconut into the mix (without measuring, of course, just poured it straight from the bag until it "looked right") and included an entire bag of caramels. Which I had to unwrap individually, of course. While I tried to peer around the corner to watch a football game. (I would prefer to have a television in the kitchen, but I don't have enough counter space as it is.) I thought the addition of coconut and caramel would give it an Almond Joy-ish flavor.

In the original recipe, after the candy has cooked for three hours, you stir it up and drop it by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. It hardens slightly and then you store it in an airtight container. At least, that's what you do to the three or four pieces you have left.

I was afraid the caramel would make the mixture too gooey and that it wouldn't harden. But it had almost the opposite effect. The mixture was barely stirrable (is that a word?), although it could somewhat be formed into balls. Unfortunately I also skipped the "allow to cool slightly" step, so I burned my hands experimenting with THAT and ultimately gave up.

I scooped enough "clumps" out of the mixture to fill all three of my wire racks, and then I dumped the rest into an aluminum pan, a la brownies. The clumps don't taste bad, and the caramel is definitely detectable. They just aren't very pretty, so I won't be giving this batch as gifts. I'll try to cut the ones in the pan into squares tomorrow and see how that goes. It may all go in the trash can.

I did learn something, however, and that means the time and money spent weren't completely wasted.

Any of you cooks out there have any idea as to why the addition of caramel and coconut ruined the consistency of my candy? I'm sure there's a scientific explanation, and if Pioneer Woman and I were better friends, she could tell me.

Tailgating Season Comes to an End.....

Today was our last home UGA football game. There is the game next Saturday at Georgia Tech (probably won't go to that one), the SEC Championship game the following game in Atlanta (have applied for tickets to that one, but so far down on the points totem pole that it's doubtful we will get them), and then whatever bowl game UGA gets invited to play in.

It's hard to believe the home season is over, and the regular season is almost over. Didn't we just start playing? Where did the time go?

Our tailgating experience this year was a positive one. This is the first time we've had season tickets, and it's the first time we've had the RV to take to ballgames. Even for games like today's, when we didn't intend to spend the night, it was nice to have A) our own bathroom; B) a television; and C) somewhere to hang out. Even room to take a nap, if we had been so inclined.

It was only about a mile walk from our RV lot to the stadium. The only teeny tiny negative I can think of is that for the two games that ended after dark, it was a little bit spooky walking back along a poorly lit path in a ... questionable ... part of town.

Gus did beautifully as a tailgating dog. He wore his little UGA t-shirt, and he didn't bark obnoxiously. Much. He wasn't crazy about being left in the RV for the duration of a football game, but he got used to it.

I didn't expect to get sunburned on the 19th of November, but I did today. I wore a turtleneck and fleece vest along with my UGA jacket, which turned out to be totally unnecessary. It stayed under my seat the entire game.

We won today's game, but it almost felt like a loss. We were expected to win by more than four touchdowns, but the score was 19-10. I hope that means we were saving up for the two big, big games we have left, and not that our team's swagger was just all a bunch of hot air.

Enough about football for tonight. We're all pretty tuckered out.

Favorite Things Friday - A Hand-Me-Up.....

This is one of my favorite pieces of clothing. (I promise all my favorite things are not going to be apparel. But some will. Obviously.)

This shirt is one of several items I call "hand-me-ups" because I inherited them from my Sweet Girl. In the case of this particular shirt, I rescued it from suffering the fate of the school's Lost and Found bin.

Sweet Girl picked this shirt out at what was then her favorite clothing store (and mine, which made it almost instantly NOT her favorite anymore) when she was in about the 7th or 8th grade. (And she graduated from high school in 2002, so that should give you an indication of how ridiculously long I hold onto things I really like.) It was one of those things she JUST HAD TO HAVE and immediately decided she hated. Unfortunately she made that decision only after leaving the shirt to die a slow, cruel death in her locker at school. For months.

She never used her locker much, so at the end of the year I had to get the assistant principal to open her locker when she couldn't remember the combination. Or couldn't be bothered, I'm not sure which it was. (I worked at the same school, so it wasn't like I was one of those freakish mothers who show up at the end of every school year to clean out their kids' lockers. Wait...)

Anyway, he opened the locker for me, and there was this shirt, languishing among the algebra worksheets and history notes. The poor shirt that she JUST HAD TO HAVE. Since it had clearly been abandoned by its previous owner, I took possession of it.

I love this shirt for so many reasons, DESPITE the fact that it isn't much to look at. It's really more of a jacket than a shirt, but it isn't confining like a jacket. I always wear it over something else, and it is one of the warmest things I have ever owned. When Hubby and I used to go pick up firewood (before we decided it was worth it to have someone just deliver it to our house), I would always wear this shirt because it was warm but also allowed freedom of movement. I also like the fact that it zips, and it has those wonderfully convenient pockets.

I'm certainly no fashionista, but it's that time of year when I gravitate toward clothes that warm my heart as well as my body.

Action....Lights....

Yes, I realize that my words in the title are not in the correct order. There's a method to my madness. Whatever.

In our new building, the interior lights are motion-activated. Not just the hallways, but in the classrooms and bathrooms too. I realize they were installed as energy-saving features, and I appreciate them for that.

Sometimes, though, I find them a little disconcerting. Several times in the last few weeks I have been the first person to arrive, at least on my hall. (I know, right?) As I proceed down the hall, first the main one and then our little short one, the lights come on as I pass the sensors. But the timing is what creeps me out. The lights always come on JUST AS I've decided they aren't GOING to come on. It's that fraction of a second that I find just a little spooky. You would think I'd get used to it, the lights coming on while I'm walking (or rolling my bicycle) down the hall. But there's that one little tiny bit of hesitation every. single. morning.

The same is true of the lights in my classroom. Some mornings when I open the door and flip the light switches, the lights come on. Some mornings they don't come on until I'm walking around my desk. I haven't figured out the difference yet. I'm standing in approximately the same place every day when I turn on the lights, so I don't know why they come on immediately some days and not others.

I will have to say that the motion-activated lights can come in handy. We have carpet in the halls this year, which we haven't had before, and we could always hear someone approaching. Particularly our principal, who wears clip-cloppy heels a lot of the time. Not that we have any reason to FEAR her approaching, we could just tell when she was coming down the hall. And not that she has any reason to sneak up on us. Now, though, after a time delay of I don't know how long, the lights in the hall go off. If we are having a meeting or eating lunch and the lights come on, we know someone this way cometh. Maybe something wicked (a student) and maybe not (the principal or counselor). At least the students can't sneak past us, at least not when the lights are off.

I also like the fact that the bathroom lights are motion-activated, too, in addition to the classrooms and hallways. If the lights are off in the bathroom, we can safely assume the girls aren't huddled up in there, using their cell phones or plotting the demise of one of their classmates. Not that we wouldn't hear them anyway, because THEIR VOICES ARE SO DAMN LOUD. And I'm pretty sure not one of them is clever enough to note the location of the motion sensors and stand still long enough to make them go off.

I've decided that instead of being creeped out by the lights coming on when I walk down the hall, I'm going to put a regal twist on it. I'm going to pretend the lights are coming on like they would for royalty. Or at least someone famous.

Give me a break, it's the last brief moment of superiority I get to experience all day long, and it's over by 8:15.

A Tale of Integrity.....

Subtitle: Where Did THAT Child Come From?

This is a story from many years ago, when my Sweet Girl was a mere freshman in high school.

She was in the marching band, which made me very proud and thrilled her. She had wanted to march in the band since ... well, since she had first laid eyes on a marching band.

It was the first away game, and Hubby and I chaperoned and rode the band bus. (That was our ONLY time doing that. I was afraid Hubby was going to get US thrown off the bus due to his misbehavior. Some role model.)

Around these parts, the high school band gets third quarter off from their duties, and they are free to visit the concession stand, visit with their other friends, or smoke cigarettes under the bleachers. Oh wait... that was when I was in the band. Sorry.

One form of discipline employed by the band director and section leaders was the loss of third quarter privileges. If you committed some egregious offense (uniform violation, forgetting your music, being late, etc.), your punishment was to sit in the stands during third quarter while everyone else went and milled around. Imagine if you will a lone figure (or two) wearing a band uniform and sitting in an otherwise empty section of metal bleachers. Conspicuous much?

On this first away game, I went to chat with Sweet Girl and she had tears in her eyes.

"I forgot my music," she said.

"Well, can't you look on with someone else?" I asked naively.

"That's not it," she explained, probably thinking I was slightly slow. "I lose my third quarter privileges."

I didn't think it was THAT bad, especially since I didn't particularly want her down there under the bleachers doing God knows what ... Wait....wrong generation again. Sorry.

During third quarter of the game I went to sit with Sweet Girl and make her feel better, until I was run out of the section by another adult, the band secretary. I was unaware that third quarter criminals were also not allowed to talk during third quarter, not even to their MOTHERS. Before I left, though, one of the band officers came up to Sweet Girl with a clipboard in his hand.

"Who gave you third quarter detention?" he asked.

"I forgot my music," Sweet Girl explained.

"But who told you that you had to sit out during third quarter?" he persisted, looking at the list on his clipboard, apparently not finding her name.

"No one," Sweet Girl answered. "I just knew that's what I had to do."

He looked at her like she had lost her mind, and then he walked away shaking his head. He went and told the band secretary, who told the band director, who said, "Sounds like officer material to me."

I was (and am) awestruck by her integrity. I would like to think I raised her to be like that, but I'm afraid it was nothing more than blind luck.

Sweet Girl, you rock!