Hey there Charlottesville — I’m hosting a Tweetup/blogger gathering lunch at West Main Restaurant this Friday, July 25 at noon. Reply in the comments or DM me on Twitter @Marijean to let me know if you can make it. See you there!

I have a new favorite product: Dr. Scholl’s Rub Relief Strips. I spotted these in the aisle at Target and thought this might be the right solution for the three pairs of shoes I have left, for the most part, sitting in my closet all summer. When I have worn these shoes, either strappy summer sandals or peep-toes, they’ve rubbed blisters onto my toes or the sides of my feet. That relegated them pretty quickly to the back of the closet, unworn.

The strips come in a dispenser so you can tear off and apply as much or as little as you need to the inside of your shoes, padding where needed. Last night I fixed up all three pairs and happily realized I just added three “new” pairs of shoes to my wardrobe — for less than 10 bucks. Not bad.

I was in the parking lot of Food Lion when I overheard an exchange between an irate customer and a manager.

Customer: I would think that you would try harder with your customers. When Harris Teeter opened over there (across Rte. 29), they really took a lot of your business.

Manager: (unintelligible)

Customer: Well, if I were you, I’d try to get them back.

She’s right, and yet, while the Food Lion is closer to home and cheaper, I would rather drive further and pay more than enter its automatic doors.

It’s obvious to any customer that Food Lion is missing the boat in dramatic fashion. Even though I may drive further to get to Harris Teeter, the trip takes me the same amount of time, since I know I’ll wait in a line with a snarly cashier behind people stocking up on Twinkies.

Here are just some of the differences between the two:

Customer Service: At HT, they actually know my name, everyone greets me and has a smile on his or her face. At FL, they ignore me and talk to one another. At HT, a guy chatted to me about the (unavailable) lard. At FL, there’s no one around to ask for anything.

Products: At FL, the produce section is small, there is no butcher, fresh fish or cut to order meat. At HT, the produce section is large and there is a great variety. The amount of food HT carries is actually astonishing and FL’s selection pales in comparison.

Store appearance: FL often appears dirty. So does the largely unkempt staff. At HT, everyone looks like they walked off the set of High School Musical and the floors gleam, especially the wood floors in the wine section. Did I mention that FL doesn’t even have a wine section?

I don’t even know why I’m bothering to write this. The differences are so obvious; so painful, that I’m not sure why I’ve even returned to Food Lion for a “quick trip” to pick up one item. It’s not worth it. Oh, and before you tell me that the Food Lion is “remodeling” to make the store better — I know — that won’t do the trick. Remodeled attitudes and selection are what they need in addition to new linoleum and a fresh coat of paint.

It’s pretty telling in this economy when we’re trying to save gas and money when I’d rather drive further and pay more for better service and selection. I know I’m not alone. Relationships with customers are what’s going to keep doors open.  

Dwight painfully pointed out that his son leaves for college in 34 days. Until that moment, I hadn’t counted, but it’s true. Only 34 days left.

These days, the boy and I pass in the hall. Or he says goodnight after I’ve been sleeping for a couple of hours. I start my day at 6:25am. He wakes up after noon. I am in and out, going to meetings for work. I wrap up my day as he’s going to work. I’m asleep when he gets home.

What boy?

We haven’t eaten a meal together since our vacation. I’m not sure I remember what he looks like. I couldn’t tell you, on any given day, what he was wearing when I last saw him. There’s a good chance it was green or ripped jeans and some snarky tee-shirt from Woot.

He says, in passing, that he’s just helping me with the separation.

I continue to plot the cleaning I will give his room when he leaves, something I haven’t been allowed to do since he was about 12. Anyone have a HazMat suit I can borrow?

I pulled a “While You Were Out” bedroom re-do for the girl while she was on her Great Grandparent Tour of 2008. Her room badly needed repainting, so I started there and added some extra touches to take the room from “elementary school girl’s room” to “middle school girl’s room.”

Here’s the whole set of bedroom makeover photos.

I took advantage of the three-day July 4th weekend to accomplish the project, and began by taping the first section of the room on Thursday night. I had purchased paint and supplies the previous weekend, so when I was ready to get started, I had everything I needed.

The room started off as a pretty deep purple. I was concerned about covering it and did not necessarily want to do a coat of primer. I decided to go to Sherwin Williams and get an education in paint. After a half hour discussion on the benefits of their various paint products, I opted for the Duration interior paint.

When it came to supplies, I headed to Lowe’s and bought paint tray liners for $.67 each and a big roll of 3″ tape.

The room prep took all Thursday evening. It took me quite awhile to get the furniture moved to the center of the room, to tape off the walls and windows and mostly, to remove the curtain brackets which were screwed in very tightly to the walls. It was hot, too so I was pretty exhausted from just this step.

I couldn’t wait to get started though, eager to see the room transform. I had chosen two light shades of blue and decided to do opposite walls. Respite Blue would go on two and Swimming would go on the others.

I started with the Respite Blue, the lighter of the two colors. I was immediately concerned because as the paint rolled on, it looked very white. I pressed on, though and finished the first coat on two walls before I was ready to quit for the day. I completed the second coat early the next morning. I was surprised to find how the color came through as the paint dried and relieved to find that it was, indeed the color I’d selected. I was halfway done with the painting portion of the project by 10am on Friday. It took me a couple of hours to prep the second two walls, primarily

because these walls were more difficult to navigate and because I ran out of 3″ tape and had to make a second trip to Lowe’s. I have decided I will never use anything but 3″ tape, though. That, plus the high quality, more expensive paint is what made this project go much faster and have much better results. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled off the tape from the first two walls that I did not have a single paint rip and had no touching up to do at all.

 As the paint dried, I grew more confident in the color choice. The lighter color really brightened up the room and a fresh coat of paint always makes a room look clean and new.

I got started with the second color, the Swimming blue on Friday afternoon and was totally finished painting the room by Saturday morning. It was the easiest painting job I’ve ever had. Granted, I made it easier on myself by using the wider tape, the better paint and the throw-away paint tray liners - all steps that saved

tons of time and stress. On Sunday afternoon I went shopping for embellishments. I bought fabric in solid purple and a patterned turquoise. I bought a bulletin board and reframed it with the purple fabric. I also replaced a pale pink lampshade with a purple beaded one, bought purple satin ribbon to make tie-backs for the curtains and a blue-framed message board to hang on the wall.

 The girl had been asking for a mirror in her room and I bought one at Target for $10 to go on the back of her

door.

The two shades of blue ended up being pretty closely related — there’s not much of a difference between them. It’s noticeable, but just barely. I was at first kind of dismayed by this but I’m still glad I didn’t go with a much darker shade — it would have been a little too dramatic and the lighter colors really make the room appear larger.

The purple accents were not pre-meditated; it was just so easy to find and seemed to work well with the pale blue. Once I found the lampshade, the rest of the purple followed.

I found turquoise throw rugs at Pier One for $6 each and decided to brighten up the beige carpet by putting one in front of each of her closets. It took me the better part of the day to clean out and reorganize her closets and while I was shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond I found a closet organizer and a matching “bedside buddy” to help keep her stuff in place.

 Her bedspread is the original — she still likes it and the colors still go with the new paint so there was no need to update them.

The bedside organizer will hopefully cut down on the pile of books and stuff she typically has next to her bed. It has several pockets where she can store games, her Nintendo DS, her iPod, books and magazines.  

The closet organizer has a few stuffed animals in it for now, but will be a place for her to store folded clothes or to plan her outfits for the week.

 I developed a fondness for fabric storage bins during other organizing projects this year. I have dark blue bins on the shelves that line the stairs to the basement. They keep our recycling bags in order, our cleaning products and overflow kitchen items neat and organized. I also have a collection of cooking magazines filling one bin.

The boy has brown suede bins on shelves in his room and stores tee shirts in them.

I try to pick these up when they’re on sale and found them luckily two for $11 on my shopping day. The girl can store any manner of stuff in them and keep her toy closet organized and neat looking.

In some of the photos you’ll see big blue flower cutouts. From the girl’s last birthday party she had a decorative streamer that she loved, and had hung on her wall. I salvaged the flowers from it and placed them around her room; on the bulletin board, the message board (which is magnetic), on her desk and bookshelf to use as coasters when she has a drink in her room. The color of the flowers happened to match perfectly and she was very happy to see them incorporated throughout.

The whole room redo was not too expensive. Paint and supplies were around $100, the closet organizers and bedside buddy totalled $36, the lampshade was $15, two rugs were $12, the bolt of ribbon and fabric was $15 and the bulletin and message board were about $30.

The girl was surprised (she knew I was painting — but that’s all she knew) and delighted by her room redo which is a good thing because it’s a look that will have to last through high school.

I noticed it the first Friday of the month after we took up residence in Charlottesville. It was quiet. Too quiet. No tornado siren testing. I thought, well maybe they do it on a different day. No. The first Friday of the month here is for gallery openings, not testing emergency alert systems. And there’s no other day when sirens blast ominously in fair and foul weather alike.

Granted, I grew up in the Midwest where tornadoes are as common as Patrick Swayze films on late-night TV, but in central Virginia, tornadoes are not unheard of. In fact, just this year several homes were devastated in the commonwealth. 

So what gives, Charlottesville? How are we to know when we’re about to be swept away a la Dorothy? Especially when the power’s out, the Internet access is down and the batteries for the radio are dead? Help a Midwest twister-sister out. I just don’t get it.

Don’t miss the C’ville Abode feature on me and my home office, at last online so my out of town friends friend and family father-in-law can enjoy.

I was in line at Bed Bath and Beyond at Barrack’s Road behind a family obviously shopping for dorm room accoutrements. It’s early to spot this kind of college kid-mom-dad trio so, judging by the size of the assumed UVa-bound kid, it’s time for the football team to move in. The dad turned to me and asked, “Is there anyplace good to eat around here?”

My head swam with the possibilities. Should I direct them downtown, or keep them within walking distance. “Aromas is a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant and right in this shopping center. What are you in the mood for?”

“I was thinking of something like Applebee’s,” the dad said.

Applebee’s. Sheesh.

I paused for a moment to feel sorry for these folks who must come from a town so small, so uncultured, that Applebee’s is the height of fine cuisine.

“Well,” I said, remembering the offering of nearby chain restaurants, “there’s a Ruby Tuesday’s.”

“She,” he said, indicating his wife, “doesn’t like Ruby Tuesday’s.”

I let this absorb. Seriously, what is the distinction between Ruby Tuesday’s and Applebee’s? Having lost my faith in the parents’ taste, I tried the kid. “Do you like pizza?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Maybe you’d like Casella’s, then, right down the way on the left.” I was determined to get these people into a locally-owned restaurant, not some chain you can find anywhere in the U.S.

They thanked me and, hopefully ventured off to sample Charlottesville food.

Applebee’s. Sheesh.

I have worn the same earrings for about a year straight. Before that, it was another pair for another year, and so on, back to the nineties. Boring, I know. So this morning I got all wacky and decided to celebrate “logical Friday” by switching it up for another pair of earrings. Exciting life, eh?

I have plenty of pairs of earrings, some left over from the Reagan administration and mile-high bangs. I keep a small selection in a heart-shaped ceramic dish with a lid. I went digging around in there to find a matching pair that were somewhat more recently in style. As I was dishing around, I found a human tooth.

The tooth was obviously one of the kids’ and obviously left over from the Era of the Tooth Fairy, but that was awhile ago and finding it freaked me out a little and in a heartbeat, I lost all previously-held sentimentality. Yuck.

Jen on the Edge has some years of sentimentality left in her, and some pretty darn cute Tooth Fairy stories. Rock on, Jen. I’ll be over here on the sidelines in my fun earrings.

When I was a little girl, my father would develop a summer reading list for me. Written in his tiny, illegible to all but me handwriting, the list would fill a page of a legal-sized pad. I loved these lists, populated with treasures like Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Orwell’s 1984 and Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. My dad fueled in me a love of reading and of wanting to be a writer; as I read books of lesser quality than those on his suggested reading list (piles of Nancy Drews, for example) I often thought, “I could do this.”

One guy who can do this, and does, is my blogger buddy Dwight Wannabe, who has published a reading meme this week; go see what you’ve read on his list. I published a slightly different version of this on Writing the Good Read (my long-neglected reading and writing blog) last year. I don’t have the energy to go through the exercise again, but note with some pleasure that I could check several more on that list as read.

My sister sent me an e-mail with a request for summer reading recommendations. I have a few, so I thought I’d share with the lot of you.

The Marijean Jaggers Summer Reading List

Disclaimer: This list is not for the feint of heart or wily-nily, namby pamby readers; nope, this is for the hard-core, plow through a novel in two days types. Yeah, the two of you reading this blog. You guys.

The Last Summer (of You and Me) A departure from my usual taste, this novel is the quintessential beach read. Read with sand under your butt and a drink, preferably with an umbrella in it, in your hand. It’s just this side of schmaltz, but engaging enough to get you through a long flight or an interminable car ride.

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union Say it with me: Sha-bone! This is the first Michael Chabon book I’ve read and ya know? I think I get the buzz. I liked this book enough to highly recommend it to the other high-level discerning reader in my house. It’s funny and charming.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Foer’s style is so incredibly engaging I had a hard time putting this down. As a 9/11 novel, as it appears, there is a sort-of sub-genre that has emerged, I really like the way that event is treated and how it is not the core of the book, merely a character. If you like this, read Everything is Illuminated too. Foer is a genius.

Life of Pi If you’re vacationing on a beach or worse, on a boat, skip this till you’re inland for awhile but I promise you’ll enjoy it as thoroughly as I did.

My Mistress’s Sparrow is Dead I’m having a long, drawn out love affair with the short story. I know it’s not popular or profitable but damn it, I love short fiction and always will. This collection of short love stories is edited by Jeffrey Eugenides, of Middlesex fame. Not all love stories have a happy ending and some are all the better for it.

Those Who Save Us Some books I read fade like the light at the end of the day from my memory. This one, though I read it several months ago HAUNTS me. The images created are as clear to me as if I’d hidden and glimpsed them inside a lighted window. I am forever changed for having read it.

(To paraphrase Dwight): Go read something.