Salvage My Life

"Hi, My name's Barb and I'm a salvage grocery shopper."

"Hi Barb!"

"It's funny that I don't even remember exactly how it started.  I know it was several years ago and I think my first salvage grocery was in Hartsville, TN.    I'd heard about it from a number of friends of mine.  It was a weird, disorganized store, I can't even remember what they called it, and I found some pretty good deals there.  Some interesting sauces and maybe some organic cereals that were barely past sale date were about all I found that day.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

Happy Anniversary to me!  Or maybe I should say Happy Birthday.  Exactly one year ago today I was re-born into a post Facebook life!  "So what?"  you might ask, but considering how much of my life was being frittered away on that website, I personally think it's a pretty big deal. A number of my old friends there were pretty sure I'd be back in a few weeks, but truth be told, I never even missed it.  I am willing to acknowledge that there a few folks out there who are able to use it responsibly, I'm just not one of them.  So, I set myself free.

What difference has it made in my life?

Work Just Gets In My Way

Don't get me wrong, I love my job.  Who wouldn't?  I walk around in a cave on nasty hot days, talk to cool people, and only officially work three days a week!  It's great . . . really!  The only problem is that when I am at work, my mind goes blank.  Not really blank, I suppose, but blank in the sense that all of the space is taken up with the technical aspects of giving good cave tours.  Timing, factual AND interesting information, attention to folks who perhaps should not be trying to walk two to four miles in the first place; this is what fills up my tiny brain cavity. Hence I am barely keeping this blog alive.

So, with all of this in mind, why oh why am I starting a NEW blog? 

Material Tranquility in an Artifactual Environment

 I read an article this morning that really caught my attention.  It was about LED lighting.  You can see why it excited me so, can't you?  LED lighting is pretty cool.  Literally.  It puts out very little heat and thereby saves gobs of energy.  As a matter of fact, in comparison to incandescent bulbs, LED lights last about 50 times as long, use about a tenth of the kilowattage, and cost about one tenth as much per year.  (As a side note; if you have algae problems, like the great Mammoth Cave, LED lights will help to kill the algae and keep your cave crickets from spending all of their time inside.)  They are also mercury free (unlike compact florescent bulbs). 

While all of this info did impress me I never would have mentioned it here if a single line had been omitted from the article.  The owner of the store was quoted as saying that, "You don't have to change your lifestyle, just the lights."

I beg to differ.

Gloriosity and a Confession

First the confession.  My brain is mush.  It has fallen down the longest hole in the ground known to man.  This hole has a name.  It is the great Mammoth Cave.  Mammoth Cave is a wonderful place to work.  After all, where else can one get paid to walk in a spectacular cave, talk to interesting people, and walk in the woods?  But, here at the beginning of the season, it takes all of my brain power just to remember all of the fascinating tidbits of information that I need to relay to our adoring public.  There is no space left for pondering deep societal issues.  Alas!!

However!  I do have something to offer you all.  I have pictures of the beautiful flowers blooming all over our place:

From New Zealand (and Russia?) With Love

I am mystified!!  Recently I was combing through the statistics for this blog (trying to figure out what some of them even mean) and I happened to click into audience - all time.  What I learned there is that my viewership is (as expected) primarily from United States viewers, second place in my viewership falls to . . . You guessed it! . . . Russia!?!?!  What's up with that?  Have some of my friends or family members taken up a secret Russian double life?  Are Russians so bored that my blog just really makes their day?  I'm burning with a desire to understand this mystery, so, if any of my dear Russian viewers would care to come forth and explain yourselves I would be deeply grateful!  So, what does all this have to do with New Zealand?  Are they number three on the viewership charts?  NO! This lovely island nation holds an entirely different, yet very special, place in my heart.