My family celebrated today with a special meal. Just good, good stuff--potato salad (how does Mom make it so good?), coleslaw, cornbread, navy beans, and Burr's Sausage.

You heard it right. Burr's Sausage.

It is in operation again.

Burr's Sausage was knocked out back in September when Hurricane Rita roared ashore along the Louisiana/Texas border. With all the news of Katrina hitting New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, it is understandable that Rita is easily overlooked. However, Rita hit cities that I am familiar with.....

Beaumont, TX
Orange, TX
Lake Charles, LA

Burr's Sausage is located in Orange, TX, and it is simply the most delicious sausage ever. So, it is really good news that Burr's is back in business. Everybody in South East Texas knows about Burr's. It is just the right blend of spices.....not too hot, not too boring.

So how good is it?

SO GOOD THAT RITA COULDN'T STOP IT!!!

Today was laundry day. Since I no longer have my own washer and dryer, I am forced to use the RV Park's laundromat. My experience with laundromats has always been overwhelmingly negative. The only positive point with laundromats is that the clothes get clean.

My first laundromat experience was at college. Lint and dust were everywhere, students battled for washers and dryers, and the heat was oppressive. My next laundromat experience was near a Navy base. Nothing was different......the same lint, dust, heat, and fights for favored machines or any machine at all.

When my first washer and dryer were delivered and installed, it was a red-letter-day for me. What luxury to wash clothes anytime I wanted. And an even greater luxury to wash just two or three items!

But, I am now back to the laundromat.

But.....it is not the same laundromat as I remember. This laundromat is always clean (people actually clean the lint filter after they dry). This laundromat is not hot. And no one is battling for the machines.

Now, laundry day means getting to go to the laundromat where I can swing on the porch and read a good book. Who knows, I might even start looking forward to it!

There is a path that goes straight from my home to the water's edge. Today, I picked up my collapsible chair and my binoculars and headed to the water's edge. Two days ago, I had wished for the chair and the binoculars. The log which I had been sitting on became uncomfortable quickly, and I was curious about that movement across the cove.

You already know what I saw. I just can't believe that I am really getting to see an otter in the wild just a hundred yards from my home. Everyone knows that you only get to see a wild otter if you are in a remote, wild place and are extremely lucky. And usually, a long stay in a log cabin is part of the scenario. Snow also comes to mind.

But, there is an otter in this lake right here in East Texas. And, this otter is visiting my little part of the lake. The water is very shallow right here and has a muddy/clay bottom. Sam (a good name, right?) was doing a lot of swimming around. He was submerging and coming up smacking. I don't know if he was smacking on fish or plants.

Sam did notice that I was there and swam closer to get a better look. He didn't seem unduly upset with me. But, I didn't see a warm welcome either. That's fine with me.....I don't intend to become friendly with Sam. Don't want him thinking that it's safe to walk up to people.

At dusk, Sam swam over to the far side of the cove. I picked up my chair and walked home.

The trip to town takes about 40 minutes. It's actually a trip to the city and not to the town. I pass right through two little towns on my way. I could stop in those, but they don't have Home Depot, Wal Mart, Best Buy, or Golden Corral.

I know, I know. I should stop and support "Mom and Pop" businesses.

Don't worry. I do.

There is this hardware store in the smaller town (population 650) that is wonderful. I had a circuit breaker go bad, and it was a special 2-in-1 circuit breaker (you know what I mean, don't you?!?). The neighbors here told me to go try that store. This store is so small, I had driven by it for two months and never seen it!

So, I walk in and ask the owner if he has a circuit breaker like this......I have learned to ALWAYS bring what needs replacing. The owner walks over to the electrical area and starts looking through these really dusty, old boxes. He opens one box and one box only. He pulls out the special 2-in-1 circuit breaker. My, my, my. Happy Days.

Before leaving, I walked around and looked at all the stuff he had. The store was small, but packed with goodies. I did finally manage to walk out with only the circuit breaker in my hand. I somehow resisted buying that cool looking tool that would be handy if my hexidiaginopolyum needed fixing.

Ya'll take care,
Suzanne

P.S. I had a great visit in town (city) with my folks and brother! So nice to be close to family again!

Every day at 10:00 AM, we take a break and have coffee and cookies. I don't know how this got started, but it is a wonderful thing. Those peanut butter cookies yesterday were fantastic. And today, we had oatmeal-and-raisin cookies. And those were hot out of the oven!

I am considering walking over to her house after this note and begging for a few cookies to tide me over until tomorrow. Yeah, I think I will do that. Especially now because I just remembered that I won't be here tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'm going into town to see my brother whom I haven't seen in a month-and-a-half. He has to drive about three hours to get here. Of course, I can't miss seeing him. That wouldn't be right. What kind of person would trade off seeing her brother for having warm-from-the-oven cookies? Yeah, what kind of person WOULD THAT BE?!?!