ARE YOU FEELING CRABBY

I bet I have something in my little town that you don’t have. I know that you gurls that live in the big cities, or even medium cities, probably feel sorry for little country bumpkins like me. No shopping, no entertainment, no night life, a whole bunch of no’s. BUT, I’m pretty sure we have something you don’t have, and probably have never seen.First, I am going to tell you a little about where I live. It is in EXTREME southwest Virginia. There is no easy way to get to Grundy, it is at least 1 1/2 away from the nearest interstate. I remember the first time I visited, Joe and I had been married about 2 weeks, and he took me to his home for Thanksgiving. It is a 5 hour trip from were I had been living, but the last 45 minutes of the trip is down the mountain. As we wound our way down the mountain, I just kept thinking that we would have to reach the bottom soon. Ha! That was wishful thinking!!!

It was a beautiful drive though, and every time you rounded the curve there would be another mountain in front of you. It has gorgeous mountains and the river runs along side the highway most of the way. It is a fairly quite little town, and everyone is super friendly. It is becoming more of a college town, because we have the Appalachian School of Law and the Appalachian College of Pharmacy here. We still have that small town mentality here, if you see someone walking, you stop to see if they need a ride. There is a nice feeling knowing that if your car breaks down, you will have plenty of people stopping to lend a hand.

This is also the heart of coal country. I am sure most of you know the plight the coal industry is in today. It is not a pretty sight back here in these mountains. People are afraid that their jobs will not be around next week, or maybe the next. I understand that those who have never been around an industry like this, thinks that coal is dirty and it needs to go away. Here is the problem. Remember when the auto industry was in trouble and they kept saying they couldn’t let them go under because if would have a ripple effect? Well, it is rippling here in the mountains. If the coal isn’t harvested, then you don’t need the truckers. That does away with the drivers, mechanics, auto parts stores, gas stations, tire repairs, etc. Then, those workers quit buying extras like clothing, dishes, decorations, furniture, appliances, etc. The wives of the miners don’t go to the beauticians, nail salons, or spas. Do you think there is going to be a lot of building in this economy? EVERY business in this town is hurting, and not just in our town, West Virginia and Kentucky are also being hit hard. These mountain folk are a resilient bunch, and I hope they will be able to weather this storm, like the many others that have already come and gone.

But I still haven’t told you what we have that you don’t. We have a Wal-Mart. But, not just any Wal-Mart, ours is 2 stories tall. Have you ever seen one like that? There is a two level parking garage, and then you ride the escalator up to the actual shopping floor. When you leave, your buggy rides down on a special escalator also, right beside you. Pretty cool, huh? One more cool thing is, when it rains, who cares? We are under roof, no hurrying to the car and trying to put your stuff in quickly as you juggle the umbrella. HahaAre you feeling crabby? Get it, crabby? Crab shirt? Who could feel crabby when wearing this shirt? It’s fun and cheery. I think it is just jolly. I don’t have a lot of orange in my wardrobe, but I really liked this sweater when I saw it. I bought this on the clearance rack at Belk. It was 75% off the original cost, bringing it to around 16.00, at least that is what my memory thinks it was. This is a brand called Crown & Ivy. They always have the cheeriest colors.The navy ankle pants I have on are from Van Heusen. They are pull-on. I couldn’t help myself, they are so comfortable.

I loved those cute block heel shoes, but I decided not to actually wear them to work. I knew I was going to be on my feet a lot, so I quickly changed shoes before heading out the door. The little blue flats matched my Dooney & Bourke patent leather satchel almost perfect. Here are a couple similar flats.