Y’all remember when I posted about how my county showed up and dug a ditch in front of the barndo even when I asked them not to? How they said because there was a 2nd driveway, the road would flood without it? For the record, it’s NEVER had water in it — it’s just something that requires weed eating maintenance.
But I have a brilliant idea!
We have a wood boiler that heats the entire barndo via a radiant heat hydronic floor system. Soooo… before getting gravel again here, I’m thinking I should have the same types of pipes installed from the barndo to the road so my driveway never gets snowy again. Of course, the melting snow must have someplace to run off to so it doesn’t refreeze in some undesirable spot — and I have a ditch that would work perfectly for that!
I figure it would only take a few years of paying someone to clean the drive of snow to finance the improvement, and it would mean that Jackson County didn’t waste taxpayer money for no good reason.
Frigid temps are going to hang around for awhile in southern Indiana.
Neg… neg… negative temps are what we have to look forward to when crawling out of bed in the mornings. Those negative temps are back by the time we crawl back in bed at night.
The cold air doesn’t keep the bird patrons from visiting the seed cafe though. They just puff out a little more and don’t let it deter them.
Now you know: Jamaica is the only country that has a flag without red, white or blue in it.
About 7 years ago, I bought a coffee table from Wayfair that was “solid wood.” It was expensive enough to be solid wood and even looked like solid wood. That is… until baby Merida chewed the bottom shelf and exposed pressed wood under the veneer. Do your own search online and you’ll find that “solid wood” means it’s solid glued sawdust from wood at least 90% of the time.
No false advertising here!
Today I’m just going to give my honest reviews of a few products/services you might want to try, because if you’re like me, you have certain items that you buy and no generic will do. Of course, many others have their favorites on those same products that are different from my hard line choices. For example, the Pesky Neighbors swear by Dean’s Cottage Cheese (my least favorite brand), while I’m team Prairie Farms.
When my friend, Julie, told me Hellman’s mayo wasn’t nearly as good as Duke’s, I had to see for myself if she was right. Off to Sam’s Club to pick up a jar of Julie’s mayo…
Here are a few of my favorites — do you align with my choices?
Stick with Hellman’s. Hellman’s is sweeter and milder. Duke’s has a pronounced tart tang.
Red Gold ketchup. While most of you will say Heinz is the way to go, it’s sweeter with less tomato taste.
Eckrich bologna & smoked sausage. Oscar Mayer doesn’t hold a candle to Eckrich compared to these 2 products.
Just Bare Chicken. Both the bites and strips are lightly breaded… perfect on salads or stand alone.
StarKist Tuna in water. Get back Chicken of the Sea and other brands… no generic will do for me.
Athletic shoes… Hoka, Brooks, and On (in that order). No Walmart tennis shoes for this girl.
Technology devices — Apple. While I use many other brands of technology (Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Android, etc.), if I could only have one, it would be Apple.
Streaming service — currently, YouTube TV. Again, I have other streaming services including Prime Video, Discovery, Netflix and more, but if I could only have one, it would be YouTube TV.
Fast food burgers and fries — Culver’s. I like McDonalds, Steak n’ Shake and others, but Culver’s is my current favorite.
Local news — The Crothersville Times.
AI image generator — ChatGPT is currently in the lead.
And finally, the best view of the sky — Crothersville, IN.
Now you know: The Crothersville Times is the largest newspaper in Jackson County, Indiana. Each year in October newspapers are required to submit and publish their statement of ownership and circulation with the US Post Office. This year, 2025, the Seymour Tribune reported their circulation at 1,730. For the same time period the Crothersville Times reported circulation of 1,880.
Skill is a high priority when choosing a dentist, but we often overlook how important it is they are patient too. In the case of my Momma, patience is the most important trait any dentist could have.
2 appointments in 2 days… arg!
I didn’t post this yesterday, but because we have yet another dentist selfie I’m obligated to share it. Thinking we were all finished with appointments, we celebrated with a milkshake on (what we thought was) our final day. By morning, she’d broken a tooth so back we went. She made certain to smile big enough to show off her missing lower tooth…
Road construction between the Ville and Seymour is a nightmare!!
It’s bad enough that 31 is closed for construction, but 250 is one lane with a stop light too — add to that a flag person on 31 at the light in Uniontown and it’s a challenge. Navigating these obstacles makes the drive that typically takes 15 minutes into an hour long tour. Had I known about the delay at the first light (31 & 250), I’d have taken a different route.
I have a few days off before our next trip to the most patient dentist in Jackson County. Here’s hoping at least some of the road construction is complete by then because I’m not the most patient daughter. 😉
Now you know: In 1977, the University of Evansville, Indiana Men’s basketball team was killed in a plane crash. One player didn’t make the trip due to an illness. He was killed in a car wreck 2 weeks later.
Historical data from the Jackson County, IN, Visitor Center says typical timing for peak fall foliage around my slice of the world is mid-to-late October. The Farmers’ Almanac says peak fall foliage this year will arrive at different times across Indiana: October 15–25 in the north, October 25–31 in the central region, and November 1–10 in the south.
I’ll miss the green…
Vibrant fall colors on trees and shrubs are beautiful, but they simply don’t last long enough! Brown replaces oranges and reds in the blink of an eye and not long thereafter, there’s nothing left but sticks.
If that’s not bad enough, I have to find window spots for all the outside plants that thrive during spring and summer’s sunshine.
Top 6 Fall Foliage Destinations in Indiana
I ran across an article that listed the top 6 fall foliage spots in my Hoosier state. It was a bit of a surprise to me that Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, IN, ranked #1. I would’ve bet on Brown County State Park in Nashville, IN, but it didn’t make the list until #4. Turkey Run in Marshall, IN — a place I’ve never been — was ranked #2, and Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, IN, came in at #3.
Now you know: The CIA used the song “The Real Slim Shady” by Eminem to psychologically torture inmates at a secret US prison. After 20 days of playing the song on repeat, one inmate described others as “screaming and smashing their heads against the walls.”
One thing I can definitely tell you that’s different living in rural Jackson County as opposed to Seymour city is that our electric goes out pretty much every time it sprinkles. If you hear thunder, you should place a bet that the barndo is in black out mode. During the brief storm we had last night, we lost power 3 times.
The birthday girl didn’t even care!
Dharma celebrated her 10th birthday not even noticing the thunder. When Gracie was alive, she would’ve been pawing at the toilet paper roll. Not sure why she did that in particular when afraid/anxious because of storms, but she did.
A cool off an beautiful sunset…
The rain cooled things off just a bit and turned the sky a beautiful orange.
Rural living is the best! ❤️
Now you know: The state with the highest obesity rate is West Virginia, at just over 41%. Indiana ranks among the top 10 states at 37.8%. (BMI is used to calculate obesity — BMI calculator here.)
