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yes–I have that dreaded syndrom – INMI- which stands for involuntary musical imagery. Some people also call them earworms. That gross nickname comes from the German word Ohrwurm.

I have done some reading about this annoyance. It seems that it is very common and an everyday occurrence for many people. Well at least I am not alone. Not that I ever thought I was with all these people singing in my head! Some research has been done, but evidently it is difficult if not impossible to narrow down how or why it afflicts so many of us. Research tends to support the theory that it happens most often with highly intelligent and artistic personalities. Oh okay…I made that last statement up, so shoot me!

The research also has not come up with any cure. They have a few suggestions, such as listening to the whole song in hopes of chasing it away. Or talking to someone or watching television, anything to distract the little musicians . These things do work, but alas, only a temporary fix.

It wouldn’t be quite so annoying if the little buggers would play the whole song, but no—all I ever get is a few lines over and over. And their selection of tunes really sucks too! The researchers seem to think it is something that you have recently heard or sometimes an older song that is associated with a memory that will pop that little songstress into high gear. Beats me…all I know is the Beat goes on and on and on!

Here’s a little phenomenon that I have noticed down south, or at least in Tupelo. Parking willy nilly. I first noticed this when we were house hunting and the realtor would just pull into a parking place regardless of which direction the car should be facing. It seems to be particularly prevalent on neighborhood streets. It does give one a start on occasion when pulling onto a street and seeing all the parked cars facing you. There is that momentary fear that you have managed to head down a one way the wrong way….but wait…never mind…its just the willy nilly parkers! And good lord, I find myself wanting to park this way too!

We have been hitting quite a few estate sales in Tupelo. It is interesting to me, the remainders that we leave behind. We went to one yesterday and walked away with nothing, a fairly rare event when we found absolutely nothing that we couldn’t live without. We look for interesting or unusual pieces or things that would be useful in our home. How fun to reimagine a well loved old piece in a new life and new setting.

The sale yesterday was a large old historic home filled to the brim with antiques, furniture and decor. Prices were sky high, but even if they had been slashed in half, the appeal just wasn’t there. We weren’t the only shoppers that were feeling this way obviously, as we saw nothing being toted out to new settings. The furniture was heavy and on the large size. The decor was “oh my for ugly”. Such as lamps adorned with feathers or some such nonsense. A sad old house packed full of a families old memories.

It made me think, what would people buy of my left overs when I am gone. So much of my treasured belonging are mementos of days and people gone by, things that would mean nothing to the average person rummaging through my things. Things that I should do something with now to ensure they go to somebody that would treasure them. The furniture and what nots would no doubt be able to fit into someone elses life with little problem as long as the price was right! I suspect the same is true of most people’s “estates”. The practical and useful items will go on to live in someone elses home but the truly dear items may well end up in the land fill somewhere. What are YOU doing to ensure that your family memories are carried down to the next generations?

Well this month has not gotten off to a good start. I came down with a rotten cold the very first weekend. Many hours spent coughing and sneezing and sleeping but finally the end seems to be in sight. I don’t know how we expect scientists to cure cancer when they can’t even cure the common cold.

The sky this morning was full of blotchy little clouds, so evenly spaced as to look unreal. It was one of those skies that if you saw it in a painted picture, you would have dismissed it as too amateur an attempt at painting clouds!

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So here’s an another room that we have been wanting to tackle. Check out the striped wall paper with all the pretty green accent paint…oh my. This is the storage room right off the kitchen and adjacent to the laundry. Handy little room but quite the eyesore. I think we should get lots of credit for looking beyond the color schemes that were in this house and imaging our own don’t you? We have started with very plain walls (that gorgeous white left over from the bedroom, that is really beige) and have covered some of the green trim but not all of it yet. Definite improvement and not quite so glaring to the eye as it was! We have also been working on some little “hangers” like one in this room for canvas bags (BYOB) It has recycled wine corks as the bag holders.

This side of the room with the giant green shelving has stayed the same for now, but I do believe its days are numbered! My favorite piece in the storage room is the plastic bag holder that Patti made. The base or hanger part is from an old trophy from days of yore. For as often as we remember to take cloth bags along for shopping we sure end up with a lot of the plastic bags too. They are handy for different things but the planet would be better off if they were banned for good. Or could you live without them? What do you think? Leave comments by clicking on blog title! Happy September you’all!

Some projects are hard to describe verbally…they really need a picture to convey the whole concept. I drew this picture for Patti. Looked clear to me, but not so much to anybody else. The basic idea was to take a bar stool, turn it up side down, add some support and use it for yard tools in the garage. Of course, once we had decided on a course of action, not one bar stool was to be found at any of our thrift store haunts. Figures doesn’t it??

Patti spied this wooden box thing…maybe was for trash or taters or something, but it was heavy and falling apart and cheap! This fit the bill! She reconfigured the top to have dividers for the tools and we are good to go! Now we have that little hinged top leftover…hmm…what will it become?

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Almost done with redoing my bedroom. Paint, remove broken closet doors, tile on floor, feature wall, new blinds on window and paint and stain on some of the furniture. Doesn’t sound like so awful much but it has taken up a chunk of time. I still want to paint or restain my bed, but that is one of the projects that has gotten pushed to the rear. It seems like most rooms in the house are almost finished except for______, that one thing we have put off until later.

Paint color chosen for this room is called Gorgeous White….well it is beige. Who comes up with all these crazy names for paint anyhow? Wouldn’t that be a fun job to be the one naming paint colors. I wonder if you go to college for that?

Disclaimer–I am not a birder or bird watcher or any kind of expert on birds at all. I have been known to feed them and watch their birdbrain antics and can even identify a few of them, one of which is the Cardinal.

When we moved to Tupelo, I was hearing Cardinals but was not seeing any of them. Didn’t think much about it, just figured they were up in the big trees some wheres. The Cardinals racket didn’t sound quite right tho. So I wondered out loud to sis, “Do you think birds have a southern accent too?” She just laughed at me or rolled her eyes or some such response!

Then one day, the light bulb clicked on. There was a strange bird on the crape myrtle making Cardinal noises, but just a hair off. I seems that we have a lot of Mockingbirds in Tupelo. And yes, they do Cardinal tunes…………but is it their southern accent that makes them sound a little off or do the Cardinals in Tupelo do indeed have a southern accent? Well, I still don’t have the answer to that question. My goodness, the things that keep me awake at night.

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We finished up a few projects this week. The folding table for the laundry room was a much needed addition. The legs are old iron sewing machine bottom, spray painted a cheery gum drop! Still to come in that room is a clothes rod over the table. We have had a lot of fun with crates also- The rolling cart will be used in the craft room for those supplies that you need constantly but don’t want cluttering up your work space. The other crates turned into a bookshelf for my bedroom. Well, of course I needed a book case in my bedroom!

Another thing we love about Tupelo is the price of gasoline! It usually sits around 2.25 a gallon…it did go up a bit around the 4th of July, but then dropped right back. And about a week ago it took another dive! Plus we have Kroger grocery stores with gas stations. This translates to another 10 to 20 cents off per gallon with your Kroger card. Gotta Love IT!

It’s rollin’ down the tracks………The main interruption to our peace and tranquility in Tupelo is the frequent sound of train whistles. I read online that there are between 20 and 25 trains daily traveling through Tupelo. The city needs approx 19 more intersections outfitted with safety crossing arms to cut down on noise. As it stands, the trains must blow their whistles or horns or whatever you call them, all the way through town as most intersections only have the flashing lights to warn traffic.

Honestly, the train whistle is not that unpleasant a sound, it has just become a background noise, much like the mockingbirds and other creatures that provide those signs of life so you don’t forget you are not the only living thing on the planet. Of course with that many trains, you are sure to get stopped at a crossing!

This intersection is where we get stopped occasionally just a few blocks from home. Some of the trains are very long too. I counted 75 one day before I nodded off and that particular train was all coal cars. Others are a mix of rail cars carrying who knows what but I sure wonder what all they are moving! Do you think these mandatory traffic stops are all part of the conspiracy to get us all to slow down? well, it does work for a short while. And I always hear that old Johnny Cash song in my head, so on the plus side, free entertainment all the way around!