It is Hard to Run Uphill With the Enemy

     So guess what? My small town, is kinda not so small anymore. Not in the respect that it grew triple fold overnight, but rather it has turned down a very dark path. When I first moved here 20 years ago, I thought to myself, "OK this is a lot like Alaska". Nobody locked their doors at night, and everybody knew your name. That was attractive to me, the chance to belong, finally I was steering my own ship.

     Many of my readers do not know, that I was what you called a "Military Brat". Meaning that my father was an officer in the Coast Guard and we moved a whole bunch. That is how I ended up in Alaska, from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We hung our hats just long enough to become attached. It was exciting and painful all at the same time.

     Since then, I have rooted myself in Vermont and kept a promise to myself. To allow my children to grow up with the kids they attended kindergarten with and see it through to graduation.

     Lately, this decision has been a bitter pill to swallow. Interstate 91, has become a breeding ground for drug trafficking. Now, instead of just driving by, they are moving in.  Drug related murders are a new symptom to an already uncontrollable situation. The statement getting caught in the crossfire is a very real possibility these days.

     It just doesn't end there, our economy is going down the toilet, and unfortunately we all get a ticket to the show. In the last two weeks, we have had two very senseless murders. This makes you want to lock your door, pull your shades and being anonymous is a lot more attractive than being neighborly. Try this little experiment, smile at everyone you meet, you will be surprised at the number of people that don't smile back. What has happened to us?

     Some say it is the summer, the heat and blah, blah, blah. I kinda have to agree. Time to close the bait shop, put the tanning lotion away, and take inventory of ourselves again. When was the last time, that you sat down and played a board game with your family?  Without all the outside stimuli? For us the Gould's, a really long time. Been too long.

     We played Monopoly yesterday, and it seems that my husband, could have taught our oldest son, the fine art of total world domination. Within the first half hour, I managed to hand my entire game strategy to him, how does that happen?
But I have to say it was entertaining watching my husband, pass the torch.

Summer has flown by, the mornings are feeling a bit cooler. I am so bummed that I saw Halloween decorations at the Dollar General. While I do enjoy the seasons, gardening has become more enjoyable. I should move to Arizona. Nice weather all year long. Florida is too humid, and I don't like to sweat.
 
     Our internal clocks must be connected to some remote season detector, because everyone was in the house by 6pm last night. I was able to get the laundry done, dinner cooked, dishes cleaned, and still have time to do a little blogging, before my guilty pleasure HBO True Blood at 9pm. Can't help it I heart True Blood.

     Speaking of hearts, I should be loving what's left of the summer, just about two weeks left. I signed up for this challenge the I Heart Summer Slim-Down Challenge. I have two weeks to drop a size, by doing 6 small steps to a smaller me. This should be interesting. I might get grumpy, I am just warning you all.

Healthy Chicken Soup

2 ready roasted chickens from your local grocery store
1 stick or 1/4 cup butter
1 pound rough chopped celery
1 pound peeled, rough chopped carrots
2 medium onions rough chopped
5 cloves garlic roughly chopped
2 32 ounce containers of chicken stock
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup brown rice
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup water

Pull off all the meat from the grocery roasted chickens, keep the bones if you are completely ambitious, otherwise toss, set the meat aside. In a soup pot, melt the butter add the vegetables and sweat until translucent. Add the can of tomatoes and chicken stock, bring to a boil. Add the brown rice and simmer the soup until the brown rice is soft. When the rice is soft, combine the cornstarch and water and thicken the soup and season with the thyme, pepper and salt.

In my humble opinion, the world is in need of a good spanking.

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.  ~Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, c.1420