Hillbilly Halloween
I got a grand total of TWO trick-or-treaters. What is it with kids - are they too darn lazy to get up off their arses and go beg for candy? Are they too busy playing video games? Oh, wait, maybe they're just at home working on their hit lists.

Pepperoni rolls
Michelle enters a vote (on behalf of her husband) for Julia's pepperoni rolls which are available here at grocery and convenience stores in northcentral WV, and probably elsewhere. I like the hot pepper cheese variety of these, heated for just a minute or so in the microwave. Yummy.

Fried sparrow with a side of mushrooms
That's what's for dinner at my house tonight. Blech. At least this bunch of sparrows was slightly less expensive to clean out of the furnace.

House of Goodwin v. House of Livingston
This darn fine article in today's Daily Mail is worthy of a rare midday post. Don Surber puts a Montague-Capulet spin on the JL/Ma-R situation earlier this week.

The Daily Mail has an article today about JL's book, which is due out Nov. 11 to coincide with the Diane Sawyer interview.

Birding gone bad
I CAN'T KEEP THE SPARROWS OUT OF MY FURNACE!!!!

A few weeks ago, I shelled out over $80 to have my furnace "repaired." By repair, I mean taking apart the furnace and removing several bird bodies (remarkably well-preserved, I might add) from the vent (flue, whatever). The guy told me I should have a cover built for the chimney or put wire over it or something.

So, it was on my list of things to do. I was waiting for the right time to climb up on the roof to assess the chimney situation and had, in fact, planned to do it tonight. But when I came home for lunch and noticed the furnace wasn't coming on -- again -- I knew I was too late.

I spent the last moments of daylight climbing up on the roof to check out the chimney, and then speeding to Lowe's to buy wire before the sun went down (didn't make it in time).

OK, then, maybe I can take the pipe apart and get the birds out myself. BAH! It took forever to get the screws out, and when I did, I learned that the birds are actually down IN the furnace. That's what the guy had said, but I had thought (and hoped) that perhaps they were right at the end of the pipe, right where it enters the furnace. Oh, noooooooooo.

So, tomorrow it's another $80-100 for bird removal. And yes, I'll be climbing up on the roof again. I don't care if I have to use duct tape and dental floss -- I'm going to cover those stupid pipes.

*Update* - Here's a statement the Friends of Mohammed released Thurs., Oct. 30. OK, if he knew ahead of time, then so be it. This is the type of thing that, if released while or before he was in the state might have made things seem less peculiar to onlookers like me.

Prior commitments
Very interesting...Lynch's agent and al-Rehaief's agent couldn't come to an agreement on a meeting while he was in WV. I'm glad agents weren't involved when she was being rescued from the hospital. Otherwise, she might still be there. A photo - taken on Tuesday - of Diane Sawyer & JL strolling down the sidewalk in front of the Wood County (grrrrrrrrr) court house appears today on the news/sentinel main page (it will be gone tomorrow). I can see why they would have wanted to film them walking in front of the Wood County court house, since it's in a secluded location a few blocks away from things like...oh, let me see... the Parkersburg TV station and the News/Sentinel office. It's the perfect place for a nice, quiet heart-to-heart talk with someone on crutches (it is good to see JL on crutches, which certainly seems encouraging).

And here's what JL's spokesperson says, as reported in the Charleston Gazette, on why the two didn't meet.

Sigh. No, I don't know the whole story. I don't know Mohammed. I don't know JL. I don't know anything about anything -- I'm well aware of that. However, as just an average West Virginian watching the media coverage unfold, I think someone may have given her some bad advice on this one. IF there's some sort of legal reason they couldn't have met (contract obligations or something), or she's not emotionally able to do so, then maybe a big bouquet of flowers or a statement or something of the sort delivered by a relative or friend could have been presented to him while he was in Elizabeth or Palestine. It just seems odd to have him in the state for what - four days? he was here all weekend, right? - and not have some sort of contact between the two.

But what do I know -- maybe it will be more meaningful after both of their books are published, and that way they can trade. JL: (gasping) "OH! A book! Why, thank you!" Mohammed: (gasping) "A BOOK! Why, how thoughtful!"

Knowing my interest in obituaries, the Brooklyn Hillbilly sent me this link. I wonder how this would manifest itself in WV? Maybe asking for donations to the McGraw campaign(s)? Or to the NRA? Or to a democrat of your choice??

Hillbilly fun with fungi
Don't you wish you had this growing in your backyard?



I'm almost embarrassed to go near it. I sneaked out early this morning to snap this picture. As you can see, it's growing straight out of a stump. It's a good thing I photographed it this morning because now it's, um, limp and not nearly so interesting (I'm serious).

Luckily, I have a well-connected blog friend who found out the following info from one of her friends:

"I THINK it is an 'elegant stinkhorn,' Mutinus elegans. Family name is Phallaceae; I'm sure you can guess why. I thought at first it might be a dog stinkhorn, as the picture of that in my Golden Guide to Non-Flowering Plants looks more like the photo than the other two stinkhorns ("elegant" isn't in the guide), and maybe it is...

Does it smell bad? (No, no noticeable odor, but I am a little too, um, shy to put my nose right down next to it.)
Some sources say it is edible. Some say it is inedible. I don't care what anybody says about that. (ICK! Neither do I!)"

Here are some URLs she sent:
Wisconsin Woodland Biology: Mutinus elegans

Elegant stinkhorn


Elegant stinkhorn 2


Stinkhorn homepage

A very big thanks to Michelle's friend Susan.

Ahhhhh, my favorite weekend of the entire year. I don't care what the weather's like, what's on TV...just give me an extra hour of sleep and I'm a happy, happy hillbilly.

More on al-Rehaief's visit

More on Pickaway
This one's especially for Amy in VA, who enjoys seeing stories with the dateline of Pickaway: New wine, old roots

Two stories in about a week -- Pickaway is really rocking! This story, however, is written by a West Virginian and does not include the word bucolic.

Hey, we don't let just anyone into this exclusive club
An Ohio congressman is pushing to have some Ohio counties -- Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Fayette -- added to the definition of Appalachia. And why? Well, federal funding, of course. That and the really cool secret handshake. The House has already passed the bill; now it goes to the Senate. WV is the only state that has all of its counties included in Appalachia. (found this in an AP story - haven't found a permalink yet)

*UPDATE* Ah, here we go.

Anywhere I can get Kroger cottage cheese on the black market?
After a week of the Kroger strike, my food supply has finally dwindled to the point that I had to shop somewhere else. I picked up my supply of Diet Coke at a convenience store that was having a sale, a vat of salsa from Sam's Club* (but no chips, because they don't have the kind I like) and yogurt and bananas from Wal-Mart. I'm holding out a few days on the cottage cheese - normally the staple of my diet - because I'm hooked on the fat free Kroger brand variety. Yes, I'm still in denial about finding a new cottage cheese supplier.

Yogurt is another thing that's hard to substitute. You'd think that yogurt would be a pretty standard thing wherever you go. Ha. No way. You've got the soupy kind, the kind that has some mystery liquid on top, the kind that's like a brick and requires minutes of stirring, and, in my humble opinion, the perfect yogurt creation - sugar-free Kroger strawberry and peach yogurt (2 different flavors, not mixed -- ick!). It's blended and just the right consistency.

AND I CAN'T GET IT!!! BAHHHHHHH!

*In my previous post, I said I spent $20 at Sam's. I should make it clear that it was not a $20 vat of salsa, although I bet you could find such a thing there. I purchased another $15 non-food item.

Don't let the smiling yellow face fool you
Not long ago it was announced that Wal-Mart is the state's largest employer. Here's an article in the Daily Mail that I really liked, and, I must admit, I've never been one to jump on the "Wal-Mart BAD" bandwagon. I also must admit that I spent $20 at Sam's Club tonight, but I felt very, very guilty as I was doing it.

Lynchlines
A segment called "Saving Private Lynch" will be on Dateline tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET. Since this is about Mohammed Al Rehaief, perhaps the piece will not include the word "hardscrabble," unless Mohammed utters it himself.
In an exclusive television interview, the Iraqi lawyer who has been credited with saving former POW Jessica Lynch tells his story. Mohammed Al Rehaief tells NBC’s Jamie Gangel why he risked his life for a total stranger.

No one's immune to ATV accidents in WV
It's well known that West Virginians and ATVs just don't mix well, and now it's a state Supreme Court justice -- Warren McGraw -- who's the victim. Luckily, he had no major injuries.

Fab fall foliage foiled
If you had planned to tour northcentral West Virginia to view the fall colors, well, you may be just about too late to see the peak. The leaves colored quickly late last week, and tonight we have major wind forecast. You know what that means -- bye, bye leaves & time to drag out the rake. Currently we're experiencing an October thunderstorm. I wouldn't be that surprised if I woke up to a foot of snow on the ground tomorrow. The weather has been just that bizarre this year.

In other WV news, if you'd planned to stop at Kroger during your leaf peeping tour, then you're really in for disappointment, as WV Kroger stores closed today because of the strike. Thankfully, the pharmacies are staying open, which means you'll still be able to jump in line in front of me when I'm there picking up my pills.

The great Pot Plane caper of 1979
I'm just a little too young to remember the Pot Plane incident, so I enjoyed reading about this bizarre piece of WV history today in the Gazette.

Hot 'n Icky
Gag - this is purely disturbing. Visitors to the hotornot web site have determined that Icky is indeed "hot."

King of Pork also the King of Spam??
Yesterday I was going through my 50 or so spam emails that had accumulated in my private account overnight. One of the messages was from Robert Byrd. Oh, I KNOW it wasn't that Robert Byrd, and I realize it's a rather common name, but somehow it amuses me to get an e-mail offer something like "!!!! Vic@DIN no R-X adfkjaepirupiuqpqut" from a Robert Byrd.

What really annoys me, though, is when the spammers just happen to choose a name of someone I went to college with. And I don't mean really common names like Bill Smith. That coupled with a vague subject line like "hi" or "how are you" is about the only thing that makes me open those idiotic messages.

One fine mothman
A buddy of mine went to see the mothman statue and was very impressed by the quality of the work, so impressed he tracked down the artist, a 70-year-old retired American Electric Power employee named Robert Roach who just started doing statues a few years ago. Go look at the detail shown in the photos. It's really impressive.

So...I'm thinking if the current version of that female veteran statue doesn't pan out, maybe this man can work on the next one. Imagine the intricate detail work he could do on the skort!

Bad news for dead voters
A new computerized state-wide voter registration system will reportedly eliminated tens of thousands (60,000-70,000) from the system, including those registered voters who are dead, no longer WV residents and otherwise ineligible to vote. No prediction on how this might affect voter turn-out in some counties (eh hem...).

Know your Oliverios
Ahhhh, you know another political campaign season is upon us when the local TV station starts mixing up photos of the Oliverios. Tonight when I flipped on the TV, the news anchor was apologizing for an earlier confusion of photos. They'd mistakenly shown the photo of WV Sen. Michael A. Oliverio II (who is running for Secretary of State) while announcing that Joseph Oliverio has entered the race for governor on the GOP ticket. What's amazing to me is I believe this happened the last time Joseph Oliverio ran for governor four years ago! And I think it was even the same station that made the mistake. One would think the wrath of all the Oliverios in northcentral WV would have made them extra cautious.

Daily Mail: Veterans groups split on female statue
"West Virginia's two largest veterans organizations are split on whether a statue meant to honor women veterans should wear fatigues or a skirt."

Well, if they can't decide between pants and a skirt, clearly the answer is a SKORT!

*UPDATE*
The Brooklyn Hillbilly (finally taking a break from sipping Howard Dean kool-aid long enough to fire off an e-mail) suggests: "They should just change it to a barefoot, pregnant, unemployed wife of a male soldier --- I think a couch and jerry springer tuned t.v. would be good, too -- but I don't know how that will look in marble." (I think it's going to be bronze, but still...we get the picture)

If only there were a way to recycle all these gosh darn trailers
Great. This sounds like just the kind of story the AP, Reuters, etc. will pick up on, minus the part about other states like Vermont and North Carolina also looking for ways to recycle trailers.

Let the official mourning period begin...
Yes, it's a sad day for single hillbilly women across the nation. Actually, Saturday was the day former Gov. Gaston Caperton married for the third time -- but I just saw it on the Gazette's AP page this afternoon. His wedding to Idit Ron Harel took place at the American Museum of Natural History in New York (perhaps the Brooklyn Hillbilly was one of the 400 in attendance), and, get this, the bride and groom walked down the aisle to "Country Roads" after the ceremony, which was a "mixture of Christian and Jewish traditions." The AP also reports that "A West Virginia band, The Production Company, played at the reception." Guess that's a good gig, if you can get it.

This column by Brad McElhinny in the Saturday Daily Mail made me grin. With so many people bailing out of the Wise administration early, he suggests hiring temps.

ACK - flashbacks...I'm having flashbacks
Former WV first lady Rachael Worby -- now music director of the Pasadena POPS -- was one of the Californians Tom Brokaw interviewed during the Dateline that aired tonight on NBC. Worby, described as an "inspiring and charismatic presence on the conductor's podium" by her website (worby-dot-com), declined to say how she would vote in the recall election.

Hillbilly Moving Pictures
Sure, maybe you know about the Forest Festival (BTW, heck of a web site design for the Forest Fest) in Elkins, the Old-Fashioned Apple Harvest Festival in Burlington and the Apple Butter Festival in Salem -- all this weekend. But did you know there's a week-long West Virginia Filmmakers Festival in Sutton?

Mountain State not a big draw for young people
No surprise there, but it is surprising (as stated in the article) that more young people aren't leaving the state to find jobs. Sometimes it seems to me like I'm one of about a dozen 30-somethings left (clearly, I'm exaggerating).

I'm one of those who didn't leave, but many, many days I wish that I had.