Fall is Here

It definitely turned to fall today in Atlanta!!! For the first time, the temperatures dipped into the mid forties and it was quite noticeable as I walked Braden early this morning.

Obviously the mountainous areas were even colder; I noticed it has gotten to 35 in Clayton, for example. This will mean that leaf color in the North Georgia mountains will occur rather quickly now. I missed the color last fall and thought I was going to this fall as well, but got to see a bit of early color on my trip to Asheville last weekend.

Cool (but not yet cold), brisk, sunny fall days are among my favorites. Living in the city, I particularly notice the change by the color of the sky and the absence of pollution in the air. It seems that the temperature inversion allows all those trapped pollutants normally held captive over the city to escape and we have gloriously cool and clear days and nights. I'm actually able to open my doors and enjoy fresh Atlanta air, something I'm not always able to do.

Happy Birthday to Braden, My Morkie

My Morkie, Braden, turns 1 year old on the 14th; and, although he's turned out to be bigger than I thought he might be, he is so special. A cross between a Yorkshire Terrier and a Maltese (in Braden's case, a Yorkshire Terrier sire and a Maltese dam), the Morkie is one of the growing number of "designer dogs." And I might add, a Morkie is definitely one of the cuter crosses.

It's amazing how much he looks like a miniature Old English Sheepdog and at 11 pounds, he's definitely smaller than a sheepdog. Braden weighed only 2 pounds at 8 1/2 weeks when I got him last December and as he's gotten older, his color has changed a bit. A much whiter face and a beautiful bluish-black, gray and white coat make him look almost like a mini version of Tuppence, the OES that was a part of our lives for 14 years beginning at the time my son was eight.

Braden flew in from a breeder in Kansas and was paper-trained and almost perfect in his puppy behavior. He now prefers going outside for his potty detail. The photo below was made at Wag-a-Lot today. 

Lean Cuisine™ Panini

I am truly amazed at how delicious the new Lean Cuisine™ Panini are. I bought my first one several weeks ago thinking there is no way this is going to be worth anything, and now, they're my frozen diet food of choice. It's a great way to have a filling and satisfying 300 calorie meal.

They come in several varieties (chicken and spinach is my favorite) and are all prepared in the microwave. The box flips and becomes a stand for the open faced panini. In the microwave, the underside of the break (ultimately the outside of the sandwich) becomes toasted and the cheesy inside becomes hot and melted. After microwaving for about three minutes, the two sides are put together and form a tasty AND filling sandwich. I often put a little spicy mustard on for a bit of extra taste.

I strongly recommend you try several of the 6 varieties, but be sure you try to the chicken and mushroom - it's the best. And, no, I don't work for Lean Cuisine™.

Old Friends - and Adult Bullies

Seems like the week to run in friends/former friends. At a meeting on Tuesday in Macon, I ran into Sarah, an old friend from my days in Rome. She. her husband Johnny, and children Jonathan and Jennifer were close friends of ours. But over the past 20 or so years, we have gotten out of contact. It was great catching up with her and getting filled in on happenings in our conversation and in a later email. Jonathan and Brett are about the same age and now Jonathan is married with three children of his own and Brett is ensconced in his career at Tech. How time flies! Running into Sarah was a truly serendipitous experience!! But, as she said in her email, things like this happen for a reason. And, hopefully, the reason is that we keep the connection going this time and not lose contact with each other.

Interestingly, on Wednesday, once again I ran into the formerly close friend I ran into on Saturday in North Georgia. Imagine that! Twice in one week! This time it was at Publix and I must admit, I handled it better than I did on SAturday! I actually tried to engage in a bit of conversation; admittedly it seemed a bit forced and nothing like the conversations we would have had in the past, but at least I tried harder.

I recently read an interesting article online recently about adult bullies. It stated that adult bullying, also known as emotional bullying... includes such abuse as exclusion from a group, tormenting, ganging up on others, or humiliation. I've come to realize that there are some aspects of the breakup of the second friendship relationship that hinge on adult bullying. For instance, I'm aware of a couple of the reasons that our friendship began to dissolve, reasons that, although misinterpreted, have been apologized for. I've come to understand, however, that there are "other" reasons, discussed with at least one and possibly more common friends. I have no idea what these are, and realize that I may never. I've certainly been "excluded" on several occasions. The one good thing that comes out of this is that I'm going to be much more cautious in the way I treat others. The bad thing is that inner chambers of my mind and experience that I thought were closed have been reopened and I find that I'm reluctant to try to make new friends or to deal with others that are common friendsbecause I don't want to appear be a part of a competitive situation.

I'll try not to write about this much, but it has been a bit therapeutic to put some of these feelings into words.

Return of an Angel

I drove to Asheville over the weekend to see a new play that included a starring role for my friend, Carla, who plays Thomas Wolfe's mother, Julia.  It was a great play with a great job by Carla (and the rest of the cast as well).

The play got me thinking about lots of things related to "friends" and "relatives" in my own life.  This was intensified because I inadvertently ran into a formerly close friend while stopping at lunch in a small North Georgia mountain town on my way to Asheville.  

At least Thomas Wolfe had the good fortune to have friends and family re-accept him after writing about them in Look Homeward, Angel.  But then, again, he knew what he had done to cause their discontent and was able to work through the process with them.

In my situation, with the friends to whom I'm referring, I really don't know fully what caused their anger and ultimately the dissolution of our friendship.  When you've been really close to someone for a long period of time and then you're seemingly made nonexistent by them without a real explanation as to why, that can be quite troubling.  It makes one feel that perhaps there was no friendship there after all.

There have been few times in my life that I have been truly hurt.  A couple of events related to the breakup of this friendship are two of the most memorable, and they were defining moments in my life and slap-in-your-face statements about our relationship.

I've forgiven them and am attempting to move on, but I have not forgotten.  And I still feel somewhat uneasy when I'm around them as in the unexpected meeting during lunch on Saturday.  And I need to work on that. Maybe one day I'll get over it or, maybe not.  I'm thinking the feelings are caused by a reaction to the level of love and concern I had for them, which has been totally discounted and I don't know, and perhaps never will know why.  Oprah!! I need help!!