What made you happy today? :)

[Murfreesboro]

Lol. Andy, I read your comment aloud to my husband. He laughed, too.

[Murfreesboro]

I currently have no dramatic vacation plans for 2025, but I'm dreaming of attending a few festivals throughout the year. I want to go to a cornbread festival in late April that's held annually in South Pittsburgh, TN, near Chattanooga. That's the site of the Lodge cast iron factory, and I've been there before, but not at festival time. Then in May my daughter and I want to catch the strawberry festival in Portland, TN, near the Kentucky line.

I found a website earlier today that lists all the festivals in TN throughout the year. I bet you could find a site like that for your state, too.

[Andybev01]

That sounds like fun.

I had a Lodge cast iron skillet but it's sooo heavy, even when empty, so I donated it to Goodwill.

Also, I couldn't wrap my head around a pan that could never be scrubbed clean. The germ-o-phobe in me would have nothing to do with that.

One of my nephews and his wife have moved back from Montana to a coastal town and when the weather turns back to 'good' from 'cr*p' I'm going to drive over and visit with them this summer.

There is a lot to explore in my new hometown as well.

Historic bridges, farmers markets and vegetable stands, museums and parks.

The city is also revamping downtown.

The stop lights are being replaced with stop signs, speed bumps will be installed and benches will be added to encourage pedestrians to shop and linger.

There was talk of closing main street to car traffic but rerouting proved prohibitive.

[Murfreesboro]

I haven't moved in 30 years, but there was a time in my life when I did it often. At one time, during a 12-month period, I had home addresses in Texas, Georgia, and Virginia.

I mention this to agree with you that exploring a new home can be as interesting as a vacation. I don't think it's possible to feel rooted anywhere until you've had at least a solid year in the new place.