Well, let me clarify that a little.  We *had* one.  Had, obviously, is the operative word.  How so, you say?  Well, think about it for a minute.  WHO are we talking about?  And, what kind of luck does he have??  Yeah, now you know how. 

Today is the first day of our new schedule change.  We now rotate work-days so that everyone gets some weekend days off during the month.  Of course, that means we won't always have Wednesdays (dance days) off, so there is some sacrifice there, and we haven't yet figured out how we're gonna work that...BUT...we can now go to the farmer's market (Sat am only), yard-sale-ing (like we really need to do THAT), Kohl's early-bird sales (another gotta go to!!), and maybe even a Friday or Sat night dance now and again.  We are really looking forward to that!  But, seeing as how it's Sat am....we hit the road for the big, state-wide farmer's market, located in Cordele, GA, about 20 miles south of "home."  Sunny came along for the ride, and everyone just oohed and aaahed over her, as usual.  SHE, on the other hand, found herself a knawed-on chicken bone, and she was in heaven.  At least, she was 'til I made her spit it out!

We got us some corn & 'maters & a big ole cantaloupe.  Were fixin' to leave, when I mentioned that we were in the proclaimed watermelon capital of the world, and we didn't even HAVE one!  Soooo, off we go, around the back, and back into the market area.  Melons galore, and we got one!  Looked just right, too.  Not too dark, good striping, sample was tasty & sweet.  Loaded it up in the truck, and off we went, down to town of Cordele, to the closest-to-us Alltel store.  Dick's been having a tough time keeping his phone charged and keeping a good signal on it, so it ws time for a new one.

Well, not all back roads are straight; most are even kinda snakey.  Add in that due to some miscommunication (turn right here.  where?  never mind, we passed it), we took a rather scenic route, that included a couple of sharp and U-turns.  Anyway, we got there.  But, not without the watermelon rolling from side to side.  More 'n once, too.  On its last roll, the truck was stopped and the driver got out, went 'round to the passenger side door.  (I thought he was gonna yank me out and either make ME drive or leave me there!!)  Dick opened the back door, and can you just imagine what happened next?  Lemme tell ya, it was actually pretty funny, and I couldn't help laughing out loud.  Which, obviously, did NOT lighten the mood, nor was it the desired reaction.  First there was a THUNK, then a SQUISH.  Then, it was watermelon toss time.  As you can imagine, there were several pieces to chuck! SOOOOO, several choice words later, no watermelon for us punkins!!  At least, not this trip!

So, we get to Alltel eventually, and what do ya know, right across the street is a dog-grooming place.  Sunny's needing clipped, but daggum if they aren't CLOSED.  Who ever heard of a pet store or groomer closed on SAT!!!??  Off we go, back to Alltel.  I get the bright idea that maybe Perry has one, so I sit ut in the truck, with everything running (it's HOT here, remember?) and Google dog groomers in Perry.  Suprise!  There are several, and the closest one I can find gets a call.  She'll take us at 1 pm today!  Yippee!  That's never happened before.  Well, I should maybe have thought about that a bit, before I agreed.  Oh well, back to Alltel.  About 90 minutes and much discussion and more debate and even a computer system reboot later, we all (yes, I took Sunny into the store, when I was thru with my internet search) walked out with a new phone for hubby.  It's just like mine, except he left the faceplate red.  You all know how much I adore red, so it's no surprise that mine was blue before I ever walked out of the store a year ago!  Off we go, to Perry, with a short stop off to get fresh pecans (we *are* in Georgia, after all, and we cannot let the loss of a watermelon foil the purpose of the trip).  Lots of time.

HA.  Remember, the best way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans.  As SOON as we turned onto the entrance ramp (no way out, construction barriers on BOTH sides), we both say, uh-oh......as we look at the traffic backed up as far as the eye can see.  Two and a half hours till the appt. doesn't seem like such a long time, looking at all those cars.  As we were debating taking the next exit, we could see the end of construction, tho, and it really only took about 10 extra minutes.  Not bad at all.  Certainly not worth going out of the way for.

We get our fresh pecans, Dick gets his homemade & hand-dipped peach ice cream, and off we go.  Yet again.  This time, all is well and we get to Perry without further incident.  On time, even.  Still watermelon-less though.  We inspect the salon and other dogs, then drop puppy off with strict instructions on how much (or little) to trim.  Goodness knows, we don't want a dorky-looking doggie upon our return, and off we go to kill some time.  We wander around downtown Perry (took about 10 minutes, tops), then moseyed on over to Peebles and Beall's.  While there, guess what!  We found a guy selling watermelons off the back of his truck.  He wanted FIVE DOLLARS!   Dick told him we'd already paid $2.00 for one he dropped and he wasn't gonna replace it with a five dollar one!  Good thing, I'd had a stroke.  After window shopping there, we moseyed on over to Wal-Mart, to pay a tribute to Diana, WMQ.  (Wal-Mart Queen)  There was yet aNOTHer pickup loaded with melons.  He only wanted $4, and when Dick declined (at my insistence), we were told Wal-Mart is charging $6.  Too bad, we don't want one of them, either.  So, we spent all day chasing watermelons (among other things) and now you know how come we still don't have one!

But, we have a new phone, lots of fresh veggies, a skinny, little less stinky doggie and the satisfaction that comes with having a beautiful day out and about.  So, now, it's time for dinner, washing dishes & walking, then I have a couple of thank-you's to write, to our most gracious hosts & hostesses, Tim, Staples, Connie & Bob.  Staples, we read your comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures, since you couldn't be there yourself.  I took LOTS of 'em, and as soon as I can, I'll email 'em to ya. 

So long for now, y'all take care.  Know that we think of you all often and miss you much!
Love,
k