A Note From The Noodle Family

Two Fridays in a row... soaking rain. Ain't it great? This week is a little cooler, though. The high should be around 50 today. So, I'm taking a break from cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry and helping the kids with school work. Cindy is substitute teaching today at First Baptist Christian School. This is her third appearance there. On her first day, a student in her class had a little challenge pronouncing "Newell". It came out sounding like "noodle". The kids started giggling about it and the name stuck. So, today Cindy Noodle is off to work again. I suppose that makes me Mr. Noodle, thank you very much.

Noting the trouble so many of us have had with allergies this Fall, I came across an impressive list of home remedies. I'm not sure they all work on the sinuses, but perhaps you might have a laugh.

1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP.
2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK.
3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.
4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.
5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.
6. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.
7. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
8. DAILY THOUGHT: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

I know you were all wondering about Melanie's ear from last week's post. Well, I heard from her this week (boy, did I ever) and she reported that the candle treatment did work for a period of time. The biggest challenge is to figure a way to keep the candles lit on windy days when she goes to the grocery store. The biggest benefit is that she can provide her own candles at the Christmas Eve service.

This weekend is the annual Cape Cod Marathon, and for the second year in a row we'll not be competing in it. Last year we opted for the Marshall University Marathon which was a fantastic event. This year we are still getting settled in our new home and were not able to train adequately. We do plan to return next year. I've been following the news of the event on the race website and our friends from the Falmouth Track Club have been keeping us in the loop. There's just no place in the world like New England in the Fall. We really miss the fun and fellowship we have with our family and friends there, everything from Pam's waffles and folding shirts at the Lawrence School to the roar of the crowd as we kick to the finish line at the Village Green on Main Street.

North Falmouth is a special place for us. We have such fond memories there, folk music on the radio, mussels from Woods Hole, Happyhallowthankmus festival at the church, falling asleep at night while star gazing through the bedroom skylight. Chris and Pam, we miss you. Be sure to go see the Falmouth Fiddlers on Sunday morning and cheer the runners for us as they pass the Bourne Farm!

Georgia Pollen Count

Well, the fall season is upon us here in northwest Georgia. Now that we've received all the settlement funds from old utility accounts, escrow accounts and closing costs, Cindy and I are finally going furniture shopping today. Woo-hoo! It will be nice to get a few more boxes out of the house. Maybe we can even provide guests a place to sit in our den. What a concept!

It's raining today. That's a good thing for us, as our area is still considered to be in a severe drought. The students at church aren't real happy about the rain today, though. They are supposed to go to a corn maze tonight. Still, I count the rain as a blessing. We got a good soaking during our run this morning. It felt REALLY good!!

Tomorrow morning we'll head over to KEMO (that's Atlanta runner-speak for Kennesaw Mountain) for our weekly long run. We hope to run from Pigeon Hill to Kolb's Farm and back (about 11 miles). We tried that last week, but got lost somewhere around Cheatham Hill. We followed another runner who looked like he knew where he was going and we somehow ended up circling back at Cheatham Hill Road, then heading the wrong direction toward Powder Springs. Trail running can be tricky (no road signs). We knew we were lost when we heard the train whistle from behind us, when it should have been in front of us. We turned around and eventually made it back to familiar territory, but we ended up only running 9 miles. So... tomorrow we try again. I'll study the trail map a little closer this time and we may even take it with us (duh). Getting lost on the battlefield at sunrise is no fun (too many Civil War ghosts in the forest).

I think we are all suffering from fall allergies around here. The whole church office staff has been coughing, sneezing and wheezing for over two weeks. Our office manager, Melanie, has had it so rough she resorted to drastic measures the other day. Ever try placing a lit candle in your ear to unclog things? Ask Melanie how well it works. There MUST be an easier way to combat the Georgia pollen count. Perhaps a few teaspoonfuls of local honey?

Handyman

The title begs a reference to James Taylor, but I don't think Cindy would appreciate it. :-)



After our weekly run at Kennesaw Mountain National Park, we came home and started our house projects. Cindy is painting bedrooms and I am tackling our storage issues.
Now, before I go any further, I have to say that I am NOT a handyman. My grandfather McKinney could build anything, but I must have missed that piece of the gene pool. However, since we moved to Kennesaw, I'm beginning to learn. Today I installed some extra shelves in a bathroom closet. I actually got them equally spaced and level. I was shocked! Cindy is still speechless. I only wish my Pappaw could see them. He'd probably have a good laugh because I made such a big deal over simple closet shelves.



To celebrate we grilled some burgers for dinner. So much for the big weekend. Marshall got clobbered last night, but the Red Sox are on the brink of winning their series with the Angels. We'll see how that Pats do tomorrow.


I guess watching all those episodes of Home Improvement is beginning to pay off. Cindy can't wait to see what's next!

By the way, the new Kennesaw First Baptist Church web site is now up and running. Check it out at www.kfbc.org