We Didn't Find a Mixing Bowl. Yet.

Every couple of weeks, I drag Marty out of the house and insist he drive somewhere. Anywhere. I don't care. Just GET OUT OF THE HOUSE. After 5 months, the unemployment is taking its toll. He's still happy he took the job in the first place. He's still happy he is no longer there. But his happiness level is beginning to crack with the day-to-day outlook no better than it was during the fourth quarter of 2024. And let's face it, there's only so many videos of medicinal herbs, societal-breakdown, and boot reviews (with the influencer using a table saw to cut the boot in half) Marty can watch. And there's only so many reviews of said videos the rest of us want to listen to. 

Anyway, this week with the blessings of the young adults, Marty and I managed two excursions. The first one was to Fouke and Genoa. Both are little towns on the Arkansas side, which are more or less considered suburbs. Our hairstylist is in Fouke. When I say she's in the middle of nowhere, it is an understatement. But yeah, she's in the middle of nowhere. 

Afterwards, I drug Marty to Three Chicks, a feed store, with the promise that they had medicinal herb seeds (they did. I have cheaper sources.). Three Chicks also has a cafe with inexpensive lunches and I knew Marty needed to try this place. We also went out into the back patio and hung out with the chickens and goats for a bit. I took a few pictures and by a strange coincidence, the person I was going to send the pictures to, called me the next day.  

You know, life in rural Arkansas. I still get a kick out of how normal this is for folks around here.  

(Sorry forgot to send it) 

When one of the young adults came to me Wednesday night and mentioned that Marty NEEDED another round of "let's get him out of his head," I suggested we go to that fun-fun metropolis, Longview Texas! My reasoning was this: I need a mixing bowl to replace the one gravity took from me. It is part of a set. I'm scouring the thrift stores looking for a replacement bowl. Plus, Marty is into videos about boots and men's fashion so who knows! The Longview resale shops might be a win-win. 

I'll let you y'all sit with that a minute. Take your time. And yes, he still only wears Hawaiian print shirts--which one cannot find here. But the YouTube men's fashion videos!

Longview Texas is about 80,000 people. To get there from Texarkana, it is ninety miles of back roads. Longview has all the basic places and reminds me a lot of Flagstaff AZ with better municipal infrastructure. 

We found a "bistro" which turned out to be a restaurant attached to a gas station. I vetoed it when the menu included tandoori chicken which had "velvety gravy" and the menu boasted tacos with "scrumptious onions." Instead, we found a fast-food joint.  We also found a place called--and I'm not making this up--"Food Factory" in a shady part of town. We'd eaten by then, but that didn't stop us from inquiring what the sign meant, while noticing the lack of road-kill at the same time. (Welcome to Texas). 

Just for fun we took a different route home. This was the view there and back, but this photo was taken about forty miles from our home on the drive back. 

East Texas on a sunny day.