Diner me this

Magnet #45 - Big Daddy's Diner

Fun little restaurant across the street from work. Kitschy and cheesy, and relatively good food.

Diners are the best restaurants in the world. It's the only place everyone can find something to eat, at whatever time you go, whether it's for brunch, or after a night on the town.

Adam and Eve on a Raft, tater tots, and a knock-off of the Big Mac that puts the original to shame.

Plus, you can't beat the decor - you can pretty much trace your entire life along the walls!

Not another Carolina victory

Magnet #44 - Carolina

Well, I was saving this one in case Carolina won it all again this year. But, alas, that was not to be the case.

So this magnet serves as a chapter ending to this year's Carolina Basketball program - it was a pretty good run, and it was more than a hundred other teams had, so we really can't complain.

It's truly difficult to feel bad for Carolina - it's a basketball powerhouse, and we can't win it every year - in fact, given our storied history, we've really only won the championship four times - 57, 82, 93, & 05. I was at Carolina in 93, and that was very definitely a good year.

As for this year, it looks as though Kansas finally got Roy Williams for leaving them years ago, so I guess we'll have to give them that, then.

See ya'll next year.

Joad for a day

Magnet #43 - John Steinbeck

Another random set of stops on the Woman on Her Own roadtrip along the California coast: Monterey and Salinas, CA. In Monterey, I opted out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium (line was too long), and just walked around. Saw the bay, saw Cannery Row and dropped by a visitors center. That's where I got the rundown of downtown Salinas about 20-30 minutes away, and heard about the National Steinbeck Center.

I know, right? Like you have to really love Grapes of Wrath or The Pearl or Of Mice and Men to actually visit on purpose. Except not really, it was just the most interesting center! Of course, they had a Steinbeck exhibition hall, which I think is permanent, where they trace his life and times through a really great museum experience. There's a bit of an entertainment space to boot, theatres to show off the movies, etc.

So moved was I that I did end up buying two JS works that I hadn't read - Cannery Row and Tortilla Flats. Haven't read them yet, but owning is half the battle, I always say.

Still, for an afternoon that was just supposed to be driving up the coast, it was a lovely way to be distracted.

Also, it was on this trip that I discovered these plastic card magnets - they're literally a plastic, almost wallet-sized card, with a coupla magnets glued to the back. It's generally a quote, plus a postage stamp of the subject, which leads me to think they're just a magnet series from the USPS. I rarely see them, it's why I have only two in the collection. Which is kinda inconvenient, because really, who can section off part of the magnet board with just two of a kind?

Clooney's Whistlestop Tour

Magnet #42 - Atlantic Coast Line

Another tile magnet picked up at either a crafts fair or The Big E. I love trains. Dunno why, but there's something magical about riding the rails.

The Atlantic Coast Line travelled up and down the Southeast from 1898 through the mid 1960s. If you study the routes, it doesn't actually pass through the current Amtrak Carolinian and Metroliner routes in North and South Carolina, rather it follows their coasts pretty closely.

I bring it up only because the real reason for this magnet on this day, is because George Clooney's new movie, Leatherheads, comes out today. If you live anywhere in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee, you know all about this movie. Clooney & Co. filmed all over the southeast - my hometown of Salisbury, NC, included - using the well-preserved historic districts and "downtowns" to serve as 1920s locales.

Then, in his own little whistlestop tour to promote the movie, George went back to all the tiny towns to say thanks for the hospitality.

And, yes, I'm resisting the urge to say, ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Blowing Rock (and no, there wasn't a single pithy headline that could be considered clean)

Magnet #41 - The Blowing Rock, NC

We visited Blowing Rock, NC, during our 10-day roadtrip through North Carolina and South Carolina. Yes. Through NC and SC - don't ask.

The town and the attraction is in western NC, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The actual rock formation itself is never quite as big as advertised - but how can it be when it's surrounded by the gorgeous mountainside. Nevertheless, it's an attraction that people always visit in NC, and have since the early 1900s.

Legend has it that a Cherokee brave in love with this Chickasaw, well, chick, and was torn between the conflict of his duty to stay with her and returning to his people. He couldn't decide what to do, so he jumped off this rock. The legend goes on to say that the girl was so distraught that she prayed for his return for the rest of her days. And ever since, there's been a perpetual wind that's blown upward from the valley below.

It's all a little too Romeo and Juliet, but, whatevs. It was good enough to explain why the snow blows upside down near Blowing Rock.

This is yet another one of my metallics (again with the fake nomenclature!)...it's actually pretty fragile, given how intricate the design is.

Pretty, no?

Happy 45th anniversary, General Hospital!

Magnet #40 - Luke & Laura's 25th Anniversary

Ok. I'm just gonna come out and say it. I watch soap operas. Just not gonna make any excuses for that.

And, while I'm in this confessional, you should also know that a couple of years ago, I managed to con two of my friends to head down to SuperSoapWeekend in Orlando. If you haven't heard of SSW, it's where ABC Daytime sends several of their soap stars down to Disney, and basically throws them to the fans - cast interviews, parades, weird game shows, etc.

It was a fun experience, but one that I'd not repeat again. Without getting on my soapbox (/pun intended), I can't believe the access that daytime fans have to the talent. It's no wonder the lines blur so easily.

Anyway - we waited in line for about an hour for this jobbie. That year's SSW was the 25th anniversary of Luke & Laura, the superest supercouple to ever come out of Daytime. So, they took our little group photo (sans the Groucho Marx masks, obvi), and photoshopped us right into L&L's wedding picture.

I chose this as today's magnet, because yesterday, General Hospital celebrated it's 45th anniversary on air.

Whoa. That's almost half a century of love in the afternoon.

I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart

Magnet #39 - To have joy one must share it. - Lord Byron

Yep. Me, again. Yet another magnet with my name on it. Got a million of them.

This one always gives me a tickle because the little girls are so cute.

But, the real reason that I'm picked it, is because there's a great story on Awakening Joy on CNN.com/Oprah.com. It involves all sorts of stuff about defining what joy means to you, and finding a "joy buddy." Apparently, there's even Awakening Joy group meetings, and take heart, "more than 2,000 people have tested it, so it's not some airy-fairy idea."

Well, far be it from me to ridiculing something that could bring someone else happiness.

But, just know, I'll be your joy buddy if you need it. *snicker*