I'm connected!

Hooray--the internet modem came in the mail this afternoon, so now I am connected to the internet at my very own house!!! How convenient. Now I have all of the amenities of home--except for a dishwasher, but I'm getting used to that role. Today while I was at the coffee shop, this real, true-to-life nun walked in! These funny people at the coffee shop were asking her if they could take her picture by the Coke machine and all of this crazy stuff like that, but she really seemed to enjoy it. She ordered an orange creamsicle drink, similar to my vanilla bean drink--also a non-coffee beverage. I'm glad that I won't have to go to the coffee shop to use the internet anymore, because just before I left today, the explitives guy from the other day came in and started talking to me again--this time about animal testing on mice. Luckily there was a nice lady from California sitting by me, who I had been talking to earlier, and the explitives guy could see that I was already talking with someone, so he didn't chat as long as he did (or use as many explitives) the other day. This afternoon I fell asleep on my bed, and then I heard Dixie outside barking and carrying on. She was growling at someone, and I heard a guy saying, "Get away from me!" Then I heard a package dropped at my door, so I realize now that it was the UPS guy delivering my modem--poor guy. At least we know that Dixie truly is a good guard dog. She has decided that she likes to sleep on my welcome mat outside the front door. Well, I just thought I'd share the good news that I now have access to the internet at my house--hooray!

Lunch at Tiffany's

I ended up back at the coffee shop today because I needed to send some e-mails. Hopefully my modem will come in the mail tomorrow. You have to order something in order to receive an internet code, so I ordered a vanilla bean drink--without coffee in it--and today I got the right drink! It's a super hot day, so the drink is especially refreshing. The guy here at the coffee shop who makes the drinks is really handsome. Yesterday I was afraid that he was married because I heard him talking about a baby to someone, but he doesn't have a wedding ring on. Maybe he was talking about his little sister? Today my buddy Ranger Angie came over for Lunch at Tiffany's--probably not quite as fun as Breakfast at Tiffany's, but we still had a good time. I whipped up what I must say were some tasty roast beef sandwiches. Angie enjoyed seeing my place--which, according to my brother Richard's suggestion, is now named Tiffland (it sounds more like Routhland than Taylorland). After I took Angie back over to the park, I ran into Everett Ratcliffe (Miss Betty's son who lives at Routhland with his wife). He insisted on giving me some smoked pork loin that he made yesterday--which, he explained, was smoked for four hours over green pecan leaves. Mmmmmm, tasty! Miss Dixie wasn't anywhere in site when I left Routhland to head out to my apartment, but as soon as I stepped outside, she came running 'round the bend, sniffing the air. She could certainly smell the pork! She was looking at me with her big, sad eyes, silently begging for a snack, but I knew that Everett was going to bring some out to her, so I ran inside with mine. It's been really sunny outside for the last few days, but it's supposedly going to get pretty stormy this afternoon and stay that way for the remainder of the week. It's back to work tomorrow, but it's been nice to have a little break!

How to Cook with a Turkey Fryer

Today is my day off after eight days of working! Since I'm taking some days off at the end of the month for the Mormon History Association conference, I have to put in a little extra time during the month. It's nice though, because I like being a park ranger so much that it doesn't bother me to work eight days in a row. Days off are nice too though. I enjoyed sleeping in this morning and watching TV while I ate breakfast. I'm at the coffee shop again today--this time having lunch--and using the internet. Hopefully by the end of this week my modem will come in the mail so that I can use the internet back at the house. I'm eating a delicious turkey and rosemary panini. They do have really good food here. Something kind of funny happened here at the coffee shop though. You see, yesterday when I was drinking what was supposed to be my non-coffee vanilla bean drink, I kept thinking, "This doesn't taste quite right." So, I asked the guy who made it if he had accidentally given me the vanilla coffee drink. He said, "No, that's the non-coffee vanilla bean." I thought maybe they had just changed how they made them or something. Anyway, today when I came here, the same guy was working and he said, "Hey, you know the drink you ordered yesterday? Well, someone had switched the vanilla bean mix and the vanilla coffee mix, so it really was a vanilla coffee drink." Yikes! Is it bad to drink coffee if you unknowingly do so? Maybe that's why I didn't have as hard of a time staying awake at the Johnson House yesterday afternoon as I usually do! I have this Civil War computer game on my laptop which also helped me stay awake. It was a little slow at the WJ house in the afternoon, but I kept myself busy fighting the Battle of Bull Run!

While I was out running errands today, I stopped at the funny Natchez Mall for just a little while. I went into the bookstore (I know--it's dangerous for me to go into bookstores--but I didn't buy anything today!) and there was this entire cookbook about cooking with a turkey fryer . . . only in the South!

The Ratcliffes have been up at their house at some lake for the last week, but they arrived home yesterday, so now things are pretty busy there at Routhland. I now have two guard dogs posted outside of my house--Miss Dixie and Miss Mollie Matisse (they had been at the lake with the family). They are really funny dogs--Dixie is this big, black dog that seems kind of scary until she starts licking you, and Mollie is a tiny little white dog that thinks she owns the place.

After I finish lunch, it's off to the grocery store, then I'll do some laundry, wash the dishes, go running, read, watch TV, and call it a day. Thank you to everyone for your nice phone calls and e-mails--that has really helped me get through my homesickness and enjoy things here! I don't know if I'll have a chance to get online tomorrow, so my next post might not be until Friday--hopefully by that time I can have internet access back at the house!

Woody the Woodpecker

I am here at the Natchez Coffee Company this morning enjoying a delicious vanilla bean blended ice drink (my favorite) and a yummy blueberry scone. I needed to send some e-mails this morning, and with internet access being rather scarce here in town, I had to come to the coffee shop to get online--at least there is good food here! I gave myself plenty of time here this morning, before I head to work, but then this middle-aged man who liked to use explitives in each sentence kept talking to me about how "historic preservation" is an oxymoron. Thank heavens I have a minute of peace and quiet--but I'm almost out of time, so I'd better run. Last night I was in my bedroom, and it sounded like someone was knocking on one of my windows. It was kind of creeping me out, and I was trying to figure out if someone was knocking on my door or what, but then I discovered the culprit. There was this cute, little woodpecker outside my window hammering away at the house! It was sooooo funny!

Follow the Footpath

We have these relatively new--yet rustic-looking--footpaths around the Melrose grounds to kind of guide visitors in the right direction. I usually don't stick to the paths though, because just walking across the grass is usually a quicker route to wherever I'm going--and it's not like at BYU where everyone gives you dirty looks if you step off the sidewalks. Walking on the grass is acceptable here. Anyway, yesterday I realized that maybe sticking to the footpaths is a good idea. I had just finished locking up the slave cabin and was heading up to the visitor center, when I almost stepped on this HUGE black snake!!! Yikes! I think it's the time of year where all of the creatures start coming out (or maybe they're always out in Mississippi). I've encountered frogs, bugs, and this weird thing called a skink (which looks like a cross between a lizard and a salamander) that lives at the visitor center. Craziness! Lunch with Angie won't work today because, unfortunately, she contracted a terrible cold, so we'll shoot for another day. This morning I ordered internet installation at my apartment so I'll be able to get online in the evenings!