The Beach

So... yesterday I mentioned that Joe and I were going out to eat for my birthday. We decided to take a drive down to Fort Myers Beach.

We ate at The Beach Pierside Grille... it's right beside the pier, and right on the water. Delicious, too (I had grilled salmon, baked potato, baby carrots...yum).


After we ate we took a walk on the pier to watch the sunset and enjoy the seabreeze, even though the sky was a little ominous.


The sunset wasn't spectacular, but the breeze was great.


There's the restaurant... and Joe... and a stormy sky. Oh, yes, and those are my leftovers Joe is holding, which I'm eagerly anticipating having for lunch today!
See those people walking up the pier on the left? They were from England... vacationing (or should I say on holiday). We talked to them for about half an hour!


The pier's bait shop and gift store were still open, but we didn't venture down that far this time.


Deciding to head back home before the rain starts, here's a look at more restaurants and shops.


And a glance straight down Estero Boulevard.

It was a perfect evening, following an awesome day!

Here's the only negative thing that happened yesterday...

I didn't mail in my tag registration in time to receive it before it expired on my birthday. I also just realized on Friday, that my driver's license expires this year. I decided to take care of those two things on my way into work yesterday morning.

That's not the negative part...

After I provided the DMV clerk all my info, I "swore that the information I have provided is true and correct." I also swore that "I am not 100% mentally or physically disabled." Huh? That didn't make any sense; but is precisely what she asked me. (Yeah... I'm only 75% mentally disabled...!)

Then, the eye test. I put my face up to the view finder and saw about eight rows of letters and three columns. The first column was blank, the second and third columns had 5 letters each. She asked me to read row 5 and I did it without a hitch. Quite satisfied with myself, I looked at her anticipating what's next. She gave me a quizzical look and said, "What about the first column?" What? I looked again... I closed my right eye... I closed my left eye... I blinked... I squinted... There's nothing in the first column... Nothing.

That's the negative part.

I told her there's nothing there and she asked if I "have trouble" with my left eye. Ugh. Yes. I have ridiculously poor eyesight in my left eye. Something like 20/400 or 450. I would have expected some fuzziness in the first column, maybe. But the fact that the letters just plain weren't there was weird.

So, I have two restrictions on my license... 1) corrective lenses. (Yes, of course.) And 2) side mirrors are mandatory. Huh?? Okay, I can abide by that (don't all vehicles come with side mirrors?).

- - - - - - - -

What were your thoughts about Dancing with the Stars? Mine:

~ Cloris Leachman is a nut! And gutsy for 82.

~ Brook Burke has had 4 kids?! She must live in the gym.

~ Susan Lucci is too skinny... and seemed a tad loopy.

~ Warren Sapp was surprisingly good. What is it about big football players and they're ability to dance?

I'm a Happy Camper

It's my birthday.

My mom spoiled me to pieces yesterday with a yummy lunch, presents, my favorite pie (I was craving a berry pie instead of cake)...

My precious Kristiina called me first thing this morning and we talked forever... I love it when we talk forever. Things important, things non-important, and things just silly. We laugh a lot.

A little later, my brother and sister-in-law called me at the office and sang Happy Birthday to me... the whole song! And then we chatted on the phone for a long time.

The girls that work at Beacon Title presented me with a little bouquet of flowers, two birthday cards, and treated me to lunch!

I have received lots of email messages, e-cards, Myspace and Facebook entries from friends and relatives near and far. They all send love and good wishes...

This evening Joe and I are going out to eat... and I'm looking forward to a quiet evening with my dear hubby.

I feel blessed and well-loved!!

True love doesn't consist of holding hands;

it consists of holding hearts.

~O.A. Battista

There's been a lot of heart-holding going on today - and mine's busting! Thanks, All!! XOXO

The Lord's Prayer

Listen to this little 2 1/2 year-old sing The Lord's Prayer.
She really has the timing down! So cute.

(You'll want to scroll down and turn off the music that plays on the blog.)

New York City

Today on Miz Booshay's blog... she's wondering where Ree and MM might be off to... someplace 18 hours away from home (which is Oklahoma). Miz Boo says it could be Wyoming..??? I'd love to go to Wyoming! Someday...

She mentioned that she's never been to New York. I thought, hmmm... I have - I'm from New York! I'll bet she meant New York City, though. I'm from upstate New York, and only visited New York City once. It was 1989 - I'd already been a Floridian for 11 years.


It was during this trip... we were visiting Joe's sister for Thanksgiving in NJ.
Kristiina's first time to see snow was also my first (and only) time to see NYC.

It hadn't snowed in NJ on Thanksgiving in 20 years... yeah! So, Kristiina's snow experience was unexpected! Likewise, my NYC experience was unexpected... in that, I didn't know what to expect! I was bug-eyed, slack-jawed, and white-knuckled just about the whole time!! It's a very busy place, and we were exploring by car!

We surprisingly found a place to park and did a brief tour by foot. It's then that I stepped from the car onto the sidewalk and almost immediately bumped shoulders with Andre Agassi. That was cool. It would have been cooler, though, if he had acknowledged me... said excuse me, or something. But he just kept walking, never looking back, completely unphased by the encounter (unlike me)! For some reason Joe was under the impression that I didn't realize who he was... but I did.

I think we hoofed it past Grand Central Station... maybe St. Patrick's Cathedral... it's fuzzy. I have to ask Joe for clarification. He knows that place.

Later, we stopped at a pizza place for dinner and ran into one of my childhood friends from Syracuse. What are the odds?! That was cool, too.

So, more exploring by car... and we drove by the Twin Towers...




...by then it was dark, and this is about what our vantage point was. This is not my photo. I found it on NYCfoto.com, but this is similar to the image I have in my mind... without the Do Not Enter sign.

So, someday I'd like to visit NYC again. I want to see Rockefeller Center, Central Park, have a delicious dinner and see a play. It might even be fun to be one of the street crowd during the Today Show.

Mount Tom, Faulkner Trail

Kristiina sent this to me from her phone.

We talked on the phone today for quite a while and this was her view the whole time we chatted! Literally!! I called while she was hiking Faulkner Trail in Woodstock. She was just reaching the top of Mount Tom, so she took a seat and enjoyed her surroundings while we conversed.

She said she was wearing her new hiking boots and a warm fleece jacket (cuz it's only about 60 degrees), had her back-pack with a bladder full of water and probably a good snack, and her camera-in-hand. That's my idea of a morning well-spent!

Mid-way through the call, she said, "Mom, let me take a picture for you of where I am right now. I'll email it to you and call right back..."

She sent these two (from her phone, right there on the spot); the one above, and this one which is the view in the other direction.

{{sigh}} I wish I were with her... for the sake of being with her... and to be hiking in 60-degree weather with my camera!!

So, How's the Weather?

Don't you just hate it when you check in here and there's nothing new... sometimes for several days at a time?

It's disheartening to me when I go to my favorite blogs and there's nothing new for a few days...

So... something new... ummm...

What do you want to talk about? (Looking at ceiling... whistling... thumbs twiddling...)

I dunno.

So, how's the weather?

Well. Let me tell you. It's hot. The "weather channel" says that right now in Cape Coral, FL, which is where I'm sitting, it feels like 98. 98!

Shouldn't that be considered too hot for September? I think so. I'm really tired of HOT.

Right now in Windsor, VT, which is where my darling girl and precious son-in-law happen to be sitting right now (or standing... or riding... I'm not sure, actually), it "feels like" 75. Now doesn't that have a nicer ring to it? Doesn't that sound pleasant? [sigh] ...75. Near perfect.

_____

Breaking news... Okay, this is highly unusual. I just searched the weather channel for Crystal River, FL, which is where my grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins are sitting, standing, riding... you get the picture. Anyway, they're 3 hours north of us and it's always at least 10 degrees cooler up there than it is here.

Well! I just learned that right now in Crystal River, FL , it "feels like" (drum roll, please)... ... ... (long, pregnant pause like in those annoying HGTV shows...well, I like the HGTV shows, but I hate the ridiculously long pauses) ...99! 99!!!

Whew. It's true when they say misery loves company. I feel so much better now.

And that's not all, I also went to Virginia... more aunts, uncles, cousins residing up there (... yes, sitting, standing, riding at the moment)... just guess what the temperature is about 14 hours north of us... the pregnant pause, again... "feels like" ...96. 96, just 2 lousy degrees less than us.

hee, hee, hee... mischievious rolling of hands...

But, seriously, wasn't September once cooler than this? I always thought August was our worst month for heat. hmpf...



(Actually, on the subject of weather ...and kidding aside... I'm keeping Texas in my prayers today. It sounds like they got hit pretty hard by Ike. I remember the heart-heavy feeling of Hurricane Charley from a few years ago.)

Take Time...

"The smallest moments can have the biggest impact on a child's life."

This is an adorable video...

Bath-Time

...why do dogs hate it so much?

But first -

It's been raining here off and on since yesterday afternoon. The effects of Ike passing beneath us... we're feeling the outer bands of wind and rain. Here's a look:


FL Satellite Image from Wink News this morning.


Fox News Headline read: Ike Brings Flooding to Southwest Florida

Some of the roads were closed this morning due to flooding.



Okay, so with that in mind, you can imagine that our back yard is a muddy, puddly mess (at least in the dogs' favorite, sodless, play-pit areas), and Zeila and Bruiser were having a blast out there yesterday evening! They were running and splashing through those puddles like giddy children.

By the time we realized that they weren't avoiding the puddles, but rather seeking them out, it was too late... a bath was definitely in the future for at least two (thankfully, the others were in the house or it could have been a bath-time marathon last night).

So, Joe and I let them have their fun outside playing in the mud and puddles while we cooked dinner and ate... the whole time watching and enjoying their antics.

Then, it was time. I did the honors. "Okay you guys... one at a time. Come here, Zeila; you first. No, Boo Boo, you have to wait here for a bit. C'mon Zei, time for a bath... C'mon Zeila. Zeila. Come." She darts past me and leaves Bruiser outside wondering why he can't come in. "It's okay, Boo, I'll be right back." Turn to find Zeila. She's cowering now. I said the B-word and she heard it. We play a brief game of zig-zag chase in our bedroom until I get her cornered... she ducks past me. "No, Zeila! Not on the bed!" Ugh, I'll have to wash the sheets. More chase. Finally, I'm able to scoop her up and carry her to the bathroom, her long legs are stretched out spastically and hitting me in the shins as I try to walk.

We have a pretty roomy walk-in shower with a hand-held shower head which makes the job relatively easy... once you actually get them in there, that is. So, the process begins... nice warm water, a sudsy massage, very gentle with ears and face (never spray them!), I'm cooing and crooning all the while. What's so bad about that?

So, Zeila is done and dried off...unscathed, to her surprise. Bruiser's turn. "C'mon, Boo Boo. C'mon, Good Boy." He's not moving. He doesn't want to come in the house anymore. "It's okay, Booby. C'mon." He's lowered his head. Do you think it's because I just called him Booby? Maybe he doesn't relish that name. (Yeah, we pretty much call him everything but Bruiser... besides Boo Boo, two of my favorites are: Boobalicious and Boobalooba, Booby is short for those two.)

Finally, I persuade him to come in the bedroom. I'm baby-talking him to the hilt! He's not like Zeila. He doesn't dart and dash about trying to avoid the inevitable. He gets low to the floor and hangs his head. I have not mentioned the word "bath" to him since all of this coaxing began. But I know he's been dreading it since he heard me mention it to Zeila. Well, I can't pick him up - he's bigger than Zeila. So, I push and steer him toward the shower. He digs in his heels... he doesn't want to go!

"Geez. What's the matter, buddy? C'mon... It's okay..."
There... he's in! And the same process begins; he's lavished with spa-style treatment and sweet-talk.

So...Why do dogs hate baths so much? !


By the way...




Needs a bath...




Had a bath!

The Burrowing Owl

This little guy was in my yard one day when I got home from the store. He didn't mind that I drove right past him when I pulled in the driveway. And he didn't get flustered when I dashed in the house to grab my camera. I was surprised by that. I think I surprised him, though, when I squatted just a few feet in front of him to take his picture. He didn't get vocal or bob up and down, which are the usual tell-tale signs that they're not pleased, but his eyes sure got big!

He had a nest in our neighbor's yard across the street (of our former house). The owls "moved in" when the lot was vacant, and remained the whole time the house was being built (the builders had to be very careful of the nest, Burrowing Owls are protected in my town). They even stayed put when the neighbors moved in.

I haven't been to that neighborhood recently. I wonder if they still reside there and whether this one stills goes visiting...

Zoe at the Office

Mom has gone visiting this week, so Joe and I are watching Zoe. I thought she might like to come to the office with me so she doesn't have to sit home alone.


This was Zoe when we first arrived this morning. She looks ready to tackle the day, doesn't she? As if to say, "Okay, what's first on our agenda?"



The eager anticipation soon waned. I think she realized that what was on my agenda was, to her, quite boring!





Sound asleep.





Oh, time to switch sides...





Back to sleep.



Look at that dirty beard. Mom had just given her a bath before she left. That evening she got into something on the counter. The little stinker maneuvers chairs so she can climb up! I can't imagine what was there... since we know her habits, we always make sure the counter is clear. But lo and behold there was an empty deli container on the living room floor and she was sticky from ears to belly button! I got most of it with a wet washcloth, but I think another bath may be in order!



You know she's really zonked when the tongue pokes out!


So, that was Zoe's exciting day at the office... and pretty much how she'll spend each day this week.

Black-bellied Lamb

Joe and I travelled to Barbados to commemmorate our Silver Wedding Anniversary (that was in '06). More memories about that trip to come later... but something that struck me today was the memory of the black-bellied lamb (I saw this picture over there on my left side bar, on the Flickr Photo Badge).



I had been taking pictures of these beautiful creatures for days (okay, well this one seems to be more of the landscape than of the lamb).





They were everywhere; roaming freely in fields...





...and scattered along the sides of the roads and in people's front yards.





Everywhere you turned, there were clusters of black-bellied lambs.




The resort where we stayed (Sea-U Guest House) serves dinner family style. Sometimes we gave them our reservation in the morning to eat at the guest house with other guests, and sometimes we elected to eat elsewhere on the island.




The evening of our anniversary, we opted to eat at the guest house. Turns out there were two other couples that ate with us that evening, and we had a spectular time. Good food and good company. The couple on the left were from England and expecting their first child (she had a tiny little baby-bump), and the couple on the right were from Spain, celebrating their honeymoon.

The evening meal, prepared by Joanne, the resort's primary cook, was the best lamb I have ever tasted; not in the least bit gamey or greasy, which I had come to expect all lamb to be. Black-bellied lamb, I think they called it...

What?! Black-bellied lamb? Oh mercy, it took days for me to realize (and not until someone specifically told me, did it register; thanks Andrew) that the delicious lamb I had for dinner that night was the same as these precious ones I'd been photographing all week.

Our hearts sank... Joe didn't realize it, either.

It would not be much of a sacrifice for me to become a vegetarian! Seriously.

All About Dexie

Of our super seven, Dexter is our senior adult. He puts up with a lot of rambunctiousness from the others, the puppies in particular. They pursue him relentlessly and sometimes Dex just needs his space; so I'm giving him a little blog space today.

Things were good when it was just he and Jake. Ah, our precious Jake. He was 3 years Dex's senior and passed away suddenly, but gently 02/07. That's another story, though. Anyway, Dex was very content in those days. Then Zeila came into the picture and he was no longer the baby of the family. I think that took some getting used to. Things really got weird for him, though, when Jake departed and Bruiser came along. But, he adjusted.

He wasn't prepared, however, for the puppies! Whoa Nellie! Talk about a world turned upside down. They're hyper, for one thing. Plus, they constantly want to jump on him and lick him; poor guy, he gets so annoyed. He'll snarl and show teeth, which is his way of begging for mercy, but they're unimpressed. If he could just get a little peace once in a while... he's no whipper-snapper anymore.

Of the puppies, Emma is the one who gets away with the most. She adores him and is always near him, licking, licking, licking... he puts up with it pretty patiently (even if he could talk, though, I don't think he'd admit that he has a soft spot for her; but we know better).

I'm going to suggest to Joe that we have a Dexter Day real soon (we do special "dog days" every now and then - it's like having a couple of extra birthdays throughout the year. Oh, give us a break... we're not grandparents yet!). He deserves a day of special pampering and more grace (more grace because he tends to act out his frustrations... forgetting that he's a very well trained/behaved dog; and by act out, I mean getting into the garbage - he hasn't done that since he was a puppy - or being a little slow to respond to our requests for him to come and sit... those kinds of things; things he clearly knows better).

Here's to you, Dexie!

Something to do...

The weekend was windy and rainy... effects of Gustav passing by. So, we didn't venture out much. Instead, we stayed cozy indoors and beaded.


This is Aunt Mega (Hi Aunt Mega!). ... darn that shadow-making flash!... She's a bead artist/designer extraordinaire! Seriously. She sells her jewelry by word of mouth, but in my humble opinion, she needs to expand her horizons. Who can offer suggestions on how to get started with a website, or something?

When she came down, she brought all her beading paraphernalia with her. It's a lot of stuff... and we had fun with it!


Here's one that she created.


And another one of Aunt Mega's.


Completely unrelated to our beading frenzy... here's a quote I'm savoring today:

As we trust God to give us wisdom for today's decisions,

He will lead us a step at a time

into what He wants us to be doing in the future. ~Theodore Epp

This Could Be Fun

that is ... if you cooperate... by cooperate, I mean actually write a reply...

So here goes. I'm unabashedly stealing two ideas from Miz Booshay, cuz they were good ideas that got people talking (typing)!

Friday, after a bit of discussion, she posed this question: If you were to jump in a time machine, where would to go to and why?

My reply (tis good to reply):

Time travel. Would I be tempted to go back a couple of decades and redo life sans the mistakes... I'd be tempted, but that's not where I'd go.

I think I'd go back to the 18th century. I always feel wistful when I read or see a movie about that era. Now, would I be a city girl donned in pretty petticoats and bonnets; or would I be more of a pioneer sort concerned with churning butter and raising chickens?

I think I'd be more suited to be the pioneer...just don't ask me to slaughter anything! (I'd be inclined to name my chickens and keep them as pets!) Oh, and I'd like to bring running water with me. I think I can live without the electricity; just give me an indoor toilet that flushes!

Then today, she got talking about names...see her post for the discussion, but it boiled down to this: What names do you just love and wish you could use? -And- Did you have a plan when you were naming your children or pets?

My reply (tis so very good to reply):

My daughter, Kristiina, and my mother, Christina, share the same name. My mother was born in Helsinki, Finland, and when they came to the states my grandmother "Americanized" her name. When we chose to name our daughter, Kristiina, we decided to use the Finnish spelling. Poor kid, she had numerous teachers in school (elementary, of course) tell her she was misspelling her name with the double "i" at the end!

And forget about finding a bookmark or keychain that had the proper spelling. Oh well, she actually liked the individuality.

I've noticed recently that most of the girl names in my family (mom's side) end in "a"

My grandmother, Eva
My mother, Christina
Me, Pamela
My daughter, Kristiina
My aunt, Mega (short for Margaretta)
My cousin, Alana
My cousin, Erika, and her daughter, Ela... and on it goes.

I have also noticed that I have named all of my female pets with names that end in "a"

...Tasha, Misha, Bianca, Kissa, Tahra, Zeila, Emma, Sara (once I noticed that there was a pattern... I did the last three on purpose).


So, might I get a response, or two... or three...to these need-to-know questions??? (C'est tres chic to reply.)

Okay, well whether you, my cyber friends, spill your guts, or not, I wish you a happy weekend! (Christina, Mega, Alana and Pamela are having a fun girls' weekend here in the Twilight Zone... oh, I mean, down here in SW FL! Wish Kristiina weren't in Vermont!)



Our five pairs of feet at the beach at the last girls' weekend Kristiina was able to join us (I miss your feet Biinaboo! ...have you done one with us since this one?? )


The five of us at the "Jupiter, Florida Girls' Weekend", headin' out for a bite to eat!

So, that's a cord...

... or maybe it's 3 cords.

My son-in-law, Nic, emailed me this photo. The subject line read, "Our first cord of wood." He later wrote to me that there's a guy from "the job" (which is synonomous with "the project" that you've heard me speak of ... or would that be you've read me write of... but that sounds silly...) Anyway, he said there's a guy from the job that splits wood every year so they bought 3 cords from him.

Aha, this must be 3 cords of wood. Whatever it is, they're hoping it lasts all winter - but he said it's predicted to be a cold, snowy one!

Nic and Louie, their good friend, loaded it all up in the dodge then stacked it neatly here beside the garage. What a task!

Time to Eat

in Turtle Town.



This guy is the biggest of the Turtle Town residents... and he tends to push his weight around. I've seen him nudge the tortoises (although, I have discovered they may be box turtles) out of the way to get at the dry food (some of the Tetra Pond Food gets tossed in the pools, and some gets put into a shallow dish).
He's also a glutton. He'll stuff his mouth as much as he can before heading back to the pool to swallow it; then he'll come back to do it again, and repeat the process a dozen times. Here, it looks like after he packed his cheeks like a chipmunk, he went back to share... don't let that fool you - it's not in his nature. I think he just dropped a morsel or two.

Now this one is quite a character. Besides his bizarre orange color, I can't get over his nose!



He makes me think of a Sesame Street character.




... such as Telly Monster, (if not for Telly's close-set eyes). He does seem to have Telly's nose!

So, as you can see, we're still on turtle duty. It seems we've become their semi-permanent surrogates. Our neighbors blew in town, spent a whirlwind week packing a few essentials and taking care of some matters, then scooted back to Georgia where they've enrolled their boys in school. They said "they might be back for Christmas." (???)

Lots of people are heading out these days. For as long as I've lived here (30 years), people have been relocating to our area. Now, they seem to be fleeing; our neighbors appear to have moved to Georgia, one of the closing agents here at the title company recently advised me that she and her family will be moving to South Carolina... I've heard that that the size of the classes at the schools are decreasing (down about 30% from last year). A friend of mine that works at a bank said it's unnervingly slow (I can relate), and the number of vacant homes in our neighborhoods is astronomical. It's a strange time to be a SW Florida resident... surreal in an ominous, unsettling sort of way.

Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart, and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 27:14

More Autumn in August

And more of Kristiina's photos that I snagged from her Flickr account!

She took these last week...around the 18th, I guess. I just can't believe that they already have glimpses of fall foliage.


This is a view of Mt. Ascutney from The Project (the enormous cabin for which Nic is overseeing the construction). See the hint of red to the right?


Here's a better, more obvious look!


How about this one?


Pretty, huh? Just wait till a couple of weeks from now!
I'll keep you updated.

And to see a bunch of pictures of the cabin... head here (Kristiina's Flickr).

Here's a preview:

Holy Moly! That's a lot of logs. If I'm not mistaken, this side of the cabin has that beautiful view of Mt. Ascutney.
See the guy sitting up on the peak... you can hardly tell here, but he's taking a moment to appreciate the view. And I do believe that's Nic (white shirt) on the phone, taking care of important details, no doubt (I'm proud of him...)

Oh, and if you read the comment (the one and only, lonely comment) in the post below, Kristiina said that Nic and Louie saw a black bear on their way up there the other day!

Can You Imagine...

...living in a place where it's not uncommon for a Black Bear to come visit your backyard?!

My cousin (Hi Alana!) took these recently when she and her family visited PA. This is at their friends' cabin (I think... is that right, Alana?). It's not their primary residence... but still! How cool is this?!



If the bear decided to turn his attention to Trey and the others out there, they could easily have dashed in the cabin... they weren't in danger sitting out there, quietly observing.



There were some ears of corn up there that the bear was very interested in.

I just think it's awesome to be able to observe wildlife like that. Of course, I guess it's all a matter of what you're used to. I no longer marvel at the huge manatee that swim in our canal daily, nor am I awed by the 4 ft. iguana that visits our seawall every morning looking for breakfast. But, maybe someone from the mountains of Pennsylvania would find that pretty incredible.

Oh, but speaking of wildlife visiting your backyard... have you seen the Youtube video of the young twin moose playing in a sprinkler while their Mama observes (and takes a drink or two for herself)? How I would love to see such things from my back porch!
Watch this...

Twin baby moose in sprinkler

Did that make you smile? It did me... they seemed to derive such pleasure from playing in the sprinkler! And Mama exhibits a perfect blend of patience and attentiveness. Aww.

Autumn

It's knocking on Vermont's door already!! Check this out:


See the red branch above the stone column?!

Kristiina took this recently of The Project, as Nic and one of the crew members survey the job (or maybe they were just taking a break to enjoy the view...?!?!). I talked to her last night and when I asked her about the weather... "Is it getting cool, yet?" She elaborated that "Yes! It's getting cool. As a matter fact, I've already spotted some red branches at The Project and as I drive to work!"

Goodness gracious... it's August!

What's the weather like where you live? Any traces of Autumn yet? There's no doubt it's still summer Florida... Hot and Humid!

~ Good night sweet pups, goodnight ~

I love this video... and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that sings to her puppies (except, that I would have scooped up the whiney ones and rocked them, too)!

Meet Fay

She was very gentle with us.

Fay stayed a Tropical Storm, never reaching winds that exceeded 60 miles per hour. Landfall ended up being a little south of Naples. We just had wind and rain all day...

I cleaned the master bathroom and organized my closet. I flipped through a couple of magazines. I loved on my dogs. I lollygagged with Joe over a couple of cups of coffee. It was a very relaxing day.

The dogs were very relaxed, too.

They found it to be particularly good napping weather.

And I stayed in my pajamas all day... I love Hurricane Days!!
(When they're gentle, like Fay.)

Bracing for Fay

We're hunkering down in anticipation of Hurricane Fay. Well, not really. We're taking mild precautions "just in case"; but its only expected to be a Cat 1 by the time it makes landfall. I'm going to close the office tomorrow (the schools are closing, so I'm following suit), and we'll unplug the computers and get them up off the floor, but we don't need to board up all the windows (well, I hope we don't... since I'm not going to!).

At home, we'll bring the potted plants in off the patio so they don't go sailing through the neighborhood, but otherwise, I'll take advantage of the opportunity to get some housework done... some reading... some relaxing... some snuggling the dogs... some snuggling Joe...

While it's never a peaceful feeling to be the target of a large storm, we don't have the dread with this storm that we did when Hurricane Charley was making a beeline for us (actually, it wasn't making a beeline for us - it was supposed to hit Tampa; it shifted a tad south at the last minute making us nearly a direct hit). We lost our house in that storm.

Often when I say that, people raise their eyebrows, their jaws drop, and they disbelieving say, "You did??!" I imagine they have visions of our whole house twirling the tumbling down the street like the little house in the Wizard of Oz. It wasn't like that. The storm severly damaged our roof, causing major water and mold damage making it uninhabitable. It was insured (though that was a two-year battle).

As of 11 AM, here's Fay's anticipated course:


See the first little black notch above the 8:00 AM Tue line? That's us.

If you hear anything in the news about Fort Myers, FL... that's also us. I'm in Cape Coral, but Fort Myers is our sister city and the one that always gets mentioned in the news because it's our county seat.

Will have pictures in a day or two, provided we have electricity!

Uh oh...

I better stop entertaining thoughts about a turtle pond; unless it's quarantined from the precious seven that live at my house... check out what I just saw and read on PW's blog...


Here’s Charlie with a turtle. It’s nature. I couldn’t stop it.

(this is her photo, her boy, her dog... and her turtle)

I couldn't have my canines running off with my turtles!

Tap tap tap...

This thing on?



Oh, hi. You are there. I can tell because the counter numbers keep rising. It's not because anyone ever leaves me a comment! (Okay, occasionally I get a comment from my darling Kristiina and every now and then a blogger friend).

Here's how you leave me a comment, for those who don't know.

Down at the bottom of my post, see where it says 0 comments? Yes, that's 0 as in zero! Okay, well, click on that; it will take you to a new screen. It'll say "Leave your comment" at the top and provide a little box for you to type in. Be sure to leave your name in the comment box, because you'll most likely select "Anonymous" at the bottom of this screen.

So, after you've typed your comment, it'll ask you to type in some weird letters that don't mean a thing. It's just some security something or another.

After typing in the "code", then you can select Anonymous and click Publish Your Comment (the orange bar). Your comment should appear on the blog almost immediately.

Any questions... just leave me a comment, I'll help you out.

Ho ho ho, hee hee hee! Love you; muah muah!

Turtles and Tortoises

Our next door neighbors have a turtle pond. It's a pretty big area designated just for the turtles; about 10x20 feet with plenty of dry area and plants to hide in, and 3 small pools with fountains. While they've been at their Georgia home for the summer, we've been feeding the turtles.

It's pretty interesting to watch them, actually. They have about 16 (that's how many I've counted, so far) assorted varieties of turtles and tortoises, ranging in size from as big as the palm of your hand to as big around as frisbees.

When they hear you coming, they scurry and splash into the pools to hide. Then they realize it's just you (because, of course, "you" means food) and they come back out to say hello and "whatcha got?"

I've decided that if I were ever to have a pond... it would be a turtle pond instead of a koi pond. Now that I've cared for turtles, I think the koi (is it just koi, or koi fish?) would be boring.











Any body else have a turtle pond (or a koi pond)? What do you think? Glad you did it?

08.08.08

08.08.08 Cool date...

Since that date, I've been trying to post a video straight from Youtube that hasn't worked. It was of my favorite dance from the So You Think You Can Dance finale... my favorite of the favorites. ...Will and Katee doing the Pas de Deux. I think they did it beautifully; Katee is so feminine, isn't she? And Will... well, he's great - such awesome lines.

Since I couldn't get the video to work, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q5hUrXcnlY&feature=related#


My second favorite was Joshua and Katee's Bollywood dance. That was cool. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0atA2spbbU

Were you pleased that Joshua won it? I was. He's very good, and he won with such grace and humility. I like him. I'd have been happy with any of the top 3 (Courtney is a good dancer, but I think the others are better.)

Who was your favorite dancer? And which was your favorite dance from the season?