Already Blogger is Driving me Crazy

I have been exceptionally busy, night and day, for over a week. Monday night I spent 45 minutes creating a lengthy post only to have Blogger go "POOF" with the many paragraphs I wrote. One time I tried writing in Word and then cutting and pasting it into Blogger, but Blogger is too finicky and doesn't like that. ARGH! Let's hope I get this one up before Blogger eats all of my words.


Today's Favorite Quote

I believe this quote is apropos in these troubled times in which we live: "During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." George Orwell.

Friendship

Over my long life I have known and treasured many friends. Today I was thinking about how one defines a friend. One concrete example will suffice: My dear friend, Terry, surprised me with a special Valentine treat. She baked me a loaf of her special bread, the one that is encrusted with various types of seeds. It is the perfect companion to a good bowl of hearty soup. Along with the bread was a pound of Plugra butter. Only a dear friend would pay attention to a minor detail like the kind of butter one likes. I found Plugra years ago in the company of my dear Blacksburg friends. We had been going to my all-time favorite restaurant in the entire world--Alexander's in Roanoke--regularly for a year or so. One night I said to the waiter (the same one who waited on us for years, a kindly man who still waits tables at Alexander's), "This is the best butter I've ever had in the United States. I haven't had butter this good since the last time I was in Europe." He smiled and said, "This *is* European butter." Of course I had to know where the restaurant acquired it. "The butter is called Plugra and you can it at the health food store near the Grandin Theater. You can't miss it; it's in an old Kroger building." The next time we made the trek to Roanoke, we all bought Plugra butter. I must admit I hoarded it a bit because I wanted my pound of butter to last. I mostly saved it for slathering on good bread and toast. When I moved to Greenville, I lamented the fact that I couldn't find Plugra in any of the grocery stores. Dear Terry asked me what makes Plugra so special. I described it to her with lots of gestures and "mmmmmmmmmmmmm" noises. On my next birthday, Terry really spoiled me. She gave me gift after gift. Of course each one was perfect. Then she pulled an insulated bag from her purse and said, "This is your last gift." Puzzled, I opened it and there it was...a pound of Plugra butter! "Where in the world did you find it?" I queried. "Did you drive all the way to Raleigh?" Terry responded, "No, you nut. I asked the local Lowe's Foods to get it for me." Lucky for me, Lowe's still carries it. Now, that's a true friend.

Campaigning for President

I'm already sick of the presidential campaign and the circus hasn't really started. It reminds me of stores putting out Christmas items before Halloween. Some things are better if you have to wait for them.