Shell's Bells

Fragments....

2010-07-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Sarah's birthday is june 26. this year she wanted a birthday party, and so was born the pig roast. It was a great party, no doubt! There were some challenges with the pig and the pups, however, so, when about four days after the party, Gracie showed signs of diarhea, I was particularly concerned about blockage or contamination. Friday night, I stopped to say fare well to a coworker who is moving on, and got home about 8:15 PM.
Gracie didn't greet me at the door. First and fore most clue something was wrong. Gracie's diarrhea was heavy with a blood presence. I called her vet, and got a message for an emergency hospital. I called the VET ER, and, of course - bring her in.
I brought her in and they treated her for colitis. They also treated her for infections in both ears. Gracie has long pendulus ears. They don't dry out. The cause of "colitis" is anybody's guess. They kept her overnight, no extra charge. Gracie was sent home with a full pack of meds - a couple of anitbiotics, washes, ointments... Five hundred dollars later...

This was the 4th of JULY weekend. Monday the 5th I was happy to know that Gracie's vet, Doctor Patterson, was open for business.
I Love Doctor Patterson. Every pet owner should have a Vet like Dr. Patterson. He was straight up with me: damned if you do, damned if you don't. regarding treatment of Gracie's ears... I' m good with that!
Gracie bordered on being totally spoiled when the ER Doc put her on a bland diet (chicken and rice/ ground beef and rice). I was boilin' chicken and steamin' rice for my delicate darling for several days.,

Do You Like Strawberries?

2010-07-14T19:08:00.001-07:00

Tonite I'm listening to a mix of classical music that my daughter put together for me as a gift a few years back. We finished a dinner of a fresh garden salad with poached chicken and blue cheese dressing. We topped it off with some chocholate sponge cake and strawberries and fudge. YUM MY.
Gracie's in the atrium barking - either at the frog or at the absence of frog.
Ruca's sprawled out on my bedroom floor.
Mozart plays on my new Bose speaker system.
I sip a stemware half full of DiSorrano over ice..nice after dinner cocktail.
Y'know...Life Is Good....

Lessons Learned In Pig Planning

2010-07-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

Trash pick up in my neighborhood is on Wednesday. We probably should have had better planning when it came to disposing of the pig carcass. "Mom, do you have any heavy duty trash bags?" Sarah called from alongside the carved pig. I guess the trash bags I bought weren't heavy duty enough, but, that's all I had. Sarah and her friend disposed of the carcass and the party continued.

A few hours later, when my brother and sister in law were leaving, they pointed out a box sticking out of a trash bag in the side yard. "The dogs are getting into that, whatever it is..." my sister in law said. I went over and picked up the bag and put it along side the garage, out of dog's reach. It was swarmed with black flies, so I figured it was the pig remains.

The next morning, while waiting for the plumber to come and fix the broken hose bib, I took another trash bag and placed it over the top of the box, trying to contain the contents (it was gross) and tied it off and put it in the garage next to the (full) trash bin.

When I pulled in the garage after work on Monday, I stopped short of pulling all the way in: The gross box/bag of hog carcass was oozing fluid on to the garage floor, and said fluid was crawling with maggots. I donned industrial strength rubber gloves, grabbed a plastic table cloth cover that was waiting for the washing machine, and a large roll of duct tape. I purposely squinted to blurr my vision so the image of squirming maggots wouldn't be permanently imbedded in my mind's eye. I spread out the plastic sheet of table cloth cover and maneuvered the oozing blob of carcass onto the plastic cover and taped it closed. I poured bleach on the garage floor and swept the bleached maggots out to the driveway. I had 24 hours before I could put it out to the curb for trash pick up. What a stinky, nauseating mess.

A couple of hours later, Sarah was in the garage carrying on about how GROSS it was and THEY'RE EATING THROUGH THE PLASTIC! and other such exclamations. I grabbed a tarp and a quilted drop cloth that we used to cover the kegs before tapping them. We wrapped the maggot-fare in the tarp and then in the quilted cloth. We secured it with a mile of duct tape, placed it in the bed of Kev's truck, and he and Sarah took it to......... well, a commercial dumpster a short distance away. I'm sure someone would have thought they were dumping a dead body...heaven help anyone who chose to dumpster dive to investigate. It truly makes me wonder how crime scene investigators can stand the stench of decomp or the sight of maggots and smell of rotting flesh.

Lessons learned regarding the disposition of the pig carcass - better planning indeed should there be another pig roast!

morning after

2010-07-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

I opened my eyes and looked at the clock: 9:54 AM. My head felt cloudy and my mouth felt like cotton. The kitchen had all the signs of a marathon party the day/night before. I took a glass from the cupboard and pressed it against the dispenser in the door of the refrigerator. Nothing happened. "What's the matter with this thing, now?" I wondered. The power was on, so that wasn't it...I opened the fridge and took out a bottle of seltzer and poured a tall glass. The effervescence will cut the cotton. "Did you see the note I left?" Sarah called as she came from her bedroom. " I had to shut the water off.." It seems that as the party was winding down, and most of the kids were gone, 'someone' pulled the hose bib out of the wall outside and snapped off the copper pipe. Water gushed like a rainstorm. At least they had the good sense to turn off the water, I thought. I slowly began picking up the party leftovers... empty champagne bottles, half-filled solo cups of beer (from beer pong), plates with rib bones and barbecue sauce, watermellon rinds, cupcake papers. It sure was one heckuva party, I must admit. Cleaning up, though, can only go so far without water. What was I going to do, I wondered.
After about an hour of loading trash cans and emptying cups of stale beer and half filled soda cans, I pulled out the phone book and called a plumber. It was a sunday, and it's going to kill me, but I don't know how to do it myself, and I'm not about to burden any of my family or friends. It took the plumber longer to quote a price and write up an invoice than it did to replace the hose bib. It was probably a five dollar part that took him maybe 10 minutes to put in at the cost of $165.00. (ouch).

Celebrate!

2010-07-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

June is a celebratory month in this household. Both daughters were born in June, 2 years apart from each other, so we celebrate birthdays! When they were young girls, we'd frequently have joint parties and they were always big blowouts with pinatas, cakes candies and lots of kids. Some were held at parks, some at pools but all were quite the celebration.
This June, the girls are 21 and 23 years old. The pinata was replaced with a 66 lb pig, and the koolaid cooler became a keg of yuengling.

The party went from 2 P to 2 A.... gee...sure hope we didn't tick off the neighbors!

Frog Lives!!!

2010-06-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Photos shot in the Atrium
Saturday, June 19
Frog Lives!!

The Frog in the Atrium

2010-06-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

During the process of buying my house, the closing had originally been set for October 20, 2009. Because of the hoops that Wells Fargo wanted me to jump through, the closing was delayed until November 4. The seller had previously planned on being here for the October 20 date (he’s from Ohio) and maintained his plans. He signed the closing papers and handed over to me the garage door opener. (I resisted meeting him at the house – but did so most reluctantly… he handed over the garage door opener as if it were the Olympic torch…). There was a period of two weeks in which I had access to the house via the garage, but didn’t yet have title or the front door keys.

One afternoon I went by my soon to be new house and pulled in to the garage. Right now I don’t remember why I went there – probably just anxious to make it a done deal. The garage opens up into an atrium, which then opens up into the master suite.

See blog entry, Anticipation October 24, 2009 :

I stopped by my new house two days ago to bring in the trash cans, and so I popped my head inside the atrium. It had just rained so it was good to see how wet it gets and where. I noticed a small tree frog in the atrium, and pondered how he could have gotten inside. I thought perhaps he was born there. Then I looked up and noticed a rip in one of the screens in the skylights. Darn. That'll need to be fixed pronto, as I plan on opening the doors and windows to the fresh air outside.

That was my first encounter with the frog in the atrium.

I moved in, and one evening Sarah asked me whether I’d partied in the atrium, yet. So we wiped off the chairs and enjoyed cosmopolitans as the moon shone through the skylights. Peeking around from behind a planter was a small tree frog. I chuckled to myself as I saw him staring back, but Sarah wasn’t laughing – she really really dislikes frogs.

One evening I sat in the atrium by myself, with the gentle spray of a light rain dusting my face. It felt magical. Then I heard the Splat! As the frog lept by and landed squarely on the glass door. He looked a little larger….

One Saturday afternoon I was cleaning the sliding glass doors between the bedroom/bathroom/atrium. I opened the one door completely wide, and as I did, up in the track of the door I saw Frog inching back out of sight….(he thought I didn’t see him, but I did…!)

Enter Gracie……
Gracie is quite unlike the labs I have had over the years – without a doubt! – but especially in her fierce hunting. Of course I add to the frenzy by making a game of it: I’ll open the door to the outside as I most excitedly exclaim: “Git-m!!” She would charge out the door on a true hunt – chasing birds, squirrels, lizards, and…..frogs.
Gracie discovered the frog in the atrium one evening, as did her buddy, Ruca. The two dogs made themselves crazy whining, howling and barking at the small tree frog that managed to stay out of range. I nudged the frog so he was forced to lunge from his perch. (Git’m!). I decided enough was enough; Frog attempted to hide under one of the patio chairs, so, I took the chair – frog and all – out to the front yard and left him there. That should be the end of it.

But NOooo. Darned if Frog either found his way back, or one of his buddies decided to take over, because there was again (or still), a frog in the atrium.

Earlier this week, Gracie was sniffing around outside the atrium. She knew Frog was there. With the heat, now, the doors are closed, so I would hear Gracie’s tap-tap-tap wanting me to open the door so she could hunt. I did – and I closed the glass doors to the air conditioned area, but left the door open to the garage. Gracie and Ruca were dancing in the room trying to get Frog. I laughed and walked out to the living room. Shortly after, I heard the loud barking of two dogs. I went in to the atrium, and there was Frog on the ledge, out of reach. Being a brat, I grabbed a broom and nudged him til he jumped to the floor. Gracie was on him instantly. Now I really believe that Gracie has the taste of blood. Ruca, a lab, much like my other labs in years past, has a “soft mouth” and can retrieve and hold objects without biting down. Not Gracie. I think she had Frog pinned between the planks. Ruca stood there looking at her with apparent disbelief. I walked away, not wanting to be witness to the slaughter.

That was three days ago, and I have not seen Frog, or signs of his ‘remains.’ Hard to say whether Gracie ate him, or he managed to escape to a safe place and recuperate. Each evening I pause to survey the room looking for any evidence of the Frog in the Atrium.

Weekend Shoppings and other good things

2010-06-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

Both yesterday and today I woke before sunrise, seeing the faint rays of the sun slipping into the atrium. Insisting that I was going to "sleep in" on my days off, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Both mornings, I slept until 8:45 am. The problem with that, is, that by 9 and 10:00 AM, it's already getting too hot to do much outdoors except pool, beach or boating. I sit looking out over the lawn, lush and green despite the lack of rain, anxious to finish some gardening I'd started weeks ago. The thought of working in this heat, well, makes me procrastinate.
What about this heat. I have lived in South Florida over 30 years - I am well acclimated. So why is this summer so much hotter? I wonder if having moved off the beach is part of it - not having the benefit of the gulf breezes. Or it may be that when on the beach, you go outside to either go to the beach or ...go in to town! Or it could just mean that this summer is hotter. It is hot.
I joined a friend and fellow clerk for happy hour the other night. We had chardonnay and oysters and shrimp and good, lively conversation. I first met Dianne about 4 years ago, although I had spoken with her on the phone times prior. She's a delightful lady and I truly enjoy her company. We met after work, and I was in khakis and sandals, and she was in a dress with heels. "Do you always dress for work?" I asked her. "Pretty much," she said, "when we have council meetings I usually wear a jacket". When I have a council meeting, I usually wear a suit or jacket or something more "professional", but other days I'm pretty casual. Lately I've been noticing others' wardrobes, and recalling a comment made by Florida Senator Richter: "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have" I've been gradually upgrading my work wardrobe to be less casual beach and just a little more professional. Oh we're a far cry from the suits in town, but trying to move away from shorts and flip flops! With that in mind, I went to Tanger Factory Outlets yesterday: the Liz Claiborne shop had 50% off sale. I bought a pair of white linen slacks, a pair of white sateen capris, a black knit top and a navy cotton summer dress. I then went to Rack Room shoes and bought three pair: one navy, one white and one brown. Next stop was Walgreens for some new makeup, walgreens liquor for some margarita mixers, and then Publix for groceries.
While in Publix, I was reading the label on a package of corn tortillas, when I heard another shopper speak to me. "Excuse me?" I asked, as I turned to see a tall, tanned gentleman walking up to me. "Do you shop this store often?" he asked. I smiled, "Probably too often!" I answered. "Do you know where I could find the honey? I thought it would be with the jellies and jams, but...." I looked up at the guides above the aisles (where they say CONDIMENTS, CRACKERS, PET SUPPLIES) but knew that was futile. "Often times the carts have directories on them" i said, but quickly realized that this store didn't. Heck, I didn't know..."The staff is usually pretty good at helping..." I answered. "...well, but I can't find anyone..." he answered as he walked away. Y'know, I just hate it when I can't find something: whether at work or at home - it's just my nature - and not knowing where the honey was bugged me! I figured if I was looking for the honey, I'd look where the corn syrup, maple syrup etc. would be. As I left that aisle and rounded to the next, I saw this man standing at the end of the aisle. "Did you find the honey?" I asked. "Yes" he responded, "It was with the coffee." Funny how we see the aisles: the same aisle that has the corn syrup, maple syrup and honey is the same aisle that has the coffee.
Shortly after, I ran into him again in the produce. He had a small, hand-held shopping basket (instead of a cart) and I noticed that there was no ring on the left hand. I finished my grocery shopping and casually pondered the exchange. He was handsome. In hindsight, I mused at the question: "Do you come here often?" Gawd... am I dumb? Should I have acted / responded differently? We hear talk about meeting "other singles" in grocery stores - did I miss an opportunity?
I then recalled a dinner a few weeks ago: It was a conference put on by one of the Town's advisory committees, titled FMBeach Leadership Conference. It was a three-day event, culminating with an awards dinner. I was one of the speakers at the conference, so attended the final dinner. Many attendees brought a spouse or guest, but I attended solo. I sat at a table with two other couples - both business owners on the island who I knew. Just as dinner began, another speaker at the conference took the sixth seat at the table next to me. He was the regional director of a company that turns waste into energy. Very good dinner company, very intelligent, very friendly and rather handsome. (and no wedding ring). I quite enjoyed my evening, and I would venture to say that his company was a major contributing factor.
I have been divorced for 5 years, and, I guess I just don't know how to "get back into" the dating scene. After 20 years of marriage, things are quite different from when I was young and single. Then, I had no hesitations about meeting people. Then, I was probably thought of as "forward." It seems now, all the good ones are taken. Or so it seems.
I practice creative visualization, and have just recently been focusing on my desire to meet someone with whom I can have a relationship (my fingers stumble over those words!). Sometimes, when I think about the constraints of "relationships" I get a little doubtful. But then I see couples together and am envious. When I experience things - be it a movie or a kayak trip or a new recipe - I think how nice it would be to have someone to share in these experiences. You could say that the universe has placed both of these men in my path, as a result of my creative visualization, but I failed to act. So I ask you, my friends: what should I have done? or, when the opportunity arises again, what should I do? Is it OK to come right out and say, "Are you married?" I guess I just don't know how to "flirt" anymore, if that's even an appropriate term. I think I see a little of what men have complained about for years: the fear of rejection.
I guess I just don't get it.

Y' can't fix stupid

2010-06-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

I just finished washing and waxing my daughter's car. That's hard work! especially in the 95 degree heat. Her 21st birthday was Friday, and she and friends headed up to Ginny Springs (in north-northwest of Gainesville) for a few days of camping and snorkling the fresh water springs. I intended to get the windows tinted on her car, and was planning to take it to the shop Saturday morning, but I realized that I would have to keep the windows up for the first 24 hours after the tint was applied, and.... her A/C doesn't work. No way I was going to drive her car home in the 95 degree heat with the windows rolled up. So, instead, i dropped it off at the local super lube and they gave it an oil change and some fuel injection action. I left the car over the weekend and the shop keeper said things were slow on Sundays and he could have one of the kids who work for him do a detail for $70.00. The super lube is only a mile away, so I walked over this morning - they said it'd be ready by noon. At about 10 minutes before noon, my cell phone rang. Was I on my way? ...yes... I'd have to wait about 10 minutes - that's OK, it'd be about 10 minutes before I got there. He went on to tell me that there were a lot of stains in the carpet and upholstery that they couldn't get out. I understood.. (her car was really really trashed). On my approach, I could see the car outside of the garage, being hosed off (didn't they wax it?!), and then pulled into the bay. (they were just now getting to the oil change!). The short of it all is, that I wasn't clear on what I expected - I expected a wash and wax! and a full detail. (Lessons learned). I brought the car home and pulled it under a shade tree and washed and waxed it - complete with armourall on all the vinyl and rubber. She needs to get the A/C fixed - now that she's home for the summer, we have the time to get it to Hunter (our local 'shade tree mechanic') to get it fixed. It's the switch in the dash..,.not an expensive part, but a bear to get to - and Modern Auto wanted $500. to fix it. Let's see what Hunter can do.
My daughter, Sarah, also went to Ginny Springs, leaving Saturday morning. I hope they are having a lot of fun! Sarah's a very experienced camper - actually, both girls are - they grew up camping. Lauren' boyfriend, however, is a novice, with this trip being his first. It'll be interesting to hear his comments on the trip! My oldest sister was down from Columbus OH for a visit, having returned home this past Thursday. This is the first weekend I have had the house to myself in months and months. The thought was exciting. I soaked up the sun for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, went to Blockbuster and rented two movies and then to the supermarket for groceries. I bought two pounds of large, pink gulf shrimp. The fishmonger commented that we probably won't be able to enjoy these for much longer, both agreeing that the oil spill is truly, truly a shame.
I cranked up the stereo, cleaned the shrimp, and marinated it in a ginger teriyaki sauce, par-boiled and peeled pearl onions, and threaded skewers of shrimp, onions, tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni, mushrooms and small pieces of corn on the cobb. I opened a bottle of chardonnay and snacked on some edamamie while I danced in the kitchen. this was good stuff.
I turned the lawn sprinkler on in the backyard, after having mowed the lawn earlier this week. Time to get the lawn to grow, and I don't know how to turn on the automatic irrigation system that is here, so, I use the manual (for now). I wait until after sunset, because it's just too darn hot otherwise. In the front of the house is a planter where I planted three bird of paradise, and several lantana. It has been hot and dry, so I put the front yard hose in the planter while I sat out back watering the lawn and firing up the grill.
I opened my eyes, and looked at the clock. 4:00 AM. I was in bed, fully clothed. I could see the hall lights on in the front of the house, so I got up and went to the kitchen. I poured a glass of chilly water and downed it, as I surveyed the kitchen. What a mess. On the counter was a dirty dish with the remnants of a couple of skewers and shrimp tails. Yellow rice dried in the pot. I stuck the plate in the sink and ran water to soak, covered the rice pot, turned off the lights and started to head back to bed. Did I put the food away, I asked myself and opened the refrigerator. I cooked two pounds of shrimp and lots of vegetables! Where were they? I looked to the patio and saw the empty pan and the barbecue tongs along side the grill. Then I saw smoke coming from the grill. I raised the hood. Oh good lord. Everything was charred, completely charred to ashes. All the shrimp, all the vegetables. I turned off the grill - I'd clean it up in the morning. As I turned off the front porch light, I heard water running. Oh good lord - the hose was still on in the front planter! I walked outside and the planter was flooded to overflowing. I turned off the hose cursing myself for the wasted water.
When I got up a few hours later I noticed in the screen porch area that the floor was wet. It's a concrete floor, and when it rains, the room floods slightly, as the former owners piled pebble rock up along the outside slab - up on top of the slab, so it flooded in. This wasn't the case today, however. Standing in the living room by the sliding glass door to the screen porch, my foot left an imprint in the carpet. My foot left an imprint in the soggy, wet carpet. The wet carpet was clearly as a result of the overflowed planter (7 or 8 hours of watering, you know...) I pulled away the love seat, end tables, floor lamps, potted plants, ottoman and chair. I hauled out the shop vac. Boy have I gotten my money's worth from that tool. The tub holds about 6 gallons of water. I emptied it twice. I cranked up the ceiling fan, turned the A/C down, closed the bedroom doors and opened up the curtains to allow the sun shine in.

STUPID. STUPID. STUPID.

Suddenly Saturday

2010-05-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here it is a saturday morning again, already - the weeks are flying by. It seems like only yesterday I was moving in to my new home. Here it has been over six months! Things at work have been a flurry, what with (another) new boss who has his own style and ideas of how things are to be done. Thank goodness I hired an assistant when I did! I would be completely unable to keep up otherwise.
The weather has turned hot quickly. It seems we barely were able to open the windows from the unusually long cold winter, when the humidity shot up and temperatures are consistently in the upper 80s and low 90s.
Mothers Day was wonderful! I had my daughters' company all day! We started the day with brunch at a great little mom n pop place I'd never been to before. Delicious food (I had the gulf coast omelet: crab meat, asparagus and hollandaise sauce) reasonable prices and no waiting. the girls gave me some great gifts - Barbeque utensils, a large citronella candle tub for the patio, and a great hard-bound book Complete National Parks of the United States. After brunch we went shopping, then came home and played games, grilled chicken wings, grilled aspargus and threw snow crab legs on the barbie, drank cranberry juice and champagne and sat out on the patio bird watching and trying to spot otters and bobcats.
Although I woke early today, I am getting a slow start. I need to mow the lawn, and I want to get some more of my plants into the soil - it's too hot for them to be in pots - my water bill is out of this world. After finally getting out of bed and getting dressed, I made a very large pitcher of lemonade with a dozen or so freshly juiced lemons. Yummy.
I knew it had been awhile since I entered into my blog, so I wanted to take these moments for a quick entry. First order of business is to scoop poops - then fire up the Sarlo. It's going to be a hot n dirty afternoon, but I know it'll feel so good when I'm finished,.

A Cardinal Rule

2010-04-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Seems I've always appreciated the cardinal; primarily the male cardinal, I guess because of his brillant appearance. I would notice his presence in the winter after a summer of rains and sea gulls. I've had various bird feeders over the years, and as my brother Kenny quips, we make fools of ourselves trying to keep the squirrels out.
This past weekend I planted a potted bougainvillea and many aloe plants. I set some pentas in pots alongside in anticipation of being put in the ground. I also set up the bird bath and bird feeder. The bird bath had been 'set up' in so much as the move-in day had it put in a spot and the rain filled it. A few weeks ago, I took it down and drained it and let it dry out. So this past weekend I set it up alongside a young wax myrtle that I put in the ground about 2 months ago. Wax Myrtle is a good birds bees and butterflies plant, and I fancied a bird and butterfly garden in that area of the lawn.
The bird feeder comes from a long line. When I moved in here, the bird feeder was dissed to the back yard, the bottom half packed with wetted seeds. A few weeks ago I removed the screws on the bottom, knocked out the clump of matted seeds and put it out to dry. This past Sunday I filled it and hung it on a wrought iron 'shepherd's hook' that I purchased at the auction in Alva (see goin once!). I positioned it on the mound in the front yard, where my twin ponytail palms stand tall - the first trees I planted here.
Today is Tuesday evening, and I erected the bird bath and feeder on Sunday afternoon. Since then, I've looked out in hopes to see a bird or two at the bath or feeder. I have hopes and dreams.
Tonight, I sat in the screen porch, looking out over the start of a butterfly garden, gazing at the bird feeder on the wrought iron hook, the fresh bird bath, and the wax myrtle. The call of the cardinal dominated the evening sound. A male cardinal, in his shocking bright red coat, landed on the young wax myrtle. He hopped onto the side of the bird bath, took a sip and paused. Like poetry in motion, he lept onto the feeder, while a female took his place on the lip of the bath. He stood down at the ground below the feeder, while she perched, pecking passionately at the seeds. I was awe-struck! Although the feeder was about 20 feet away, I picked up the binoculars on the table and watched. He stood guard below her while she feasted. He kept a soldier's watch under the feeder while she had her fill. When she had her fill, she flew back toward the stand of arecas next to the bouganvillea. He followed closely behind.
What you focus on, you attract.
This cardinal occurance is proof that what you focus on, you attract.
It is Magic.
Poetry in Motion.

Just for the Birds

2010-04-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

I spent some time yesterday replacing the screens on the screened porch - Gracie and Ruca designed their own 'doggie door'. We're getting into 'bug season' and the bugs are pretty intense in my neighborhood. I have lived in south florida over 30 years and have done wilderness camping in the everglades, so I'm no stranger to mosquitos and no-seeums. I have gone so far as to use insect repellant containing 100% deet - the hi-test - when outside at dusk. The bugs are bad.
I poured myself a margherita and sat down on the patio (with my deet). I sat gazing over the lawn, when my eye caught sight of a bird flying overhead. "That looks like a bald eagle.." I thought to myself. I didn't give it another thought until I saw another bird on the same flight path land in the same pine tree. I clearly saw the white undertail and the rigidly flat wings. I grabbed my binoculars. Carefully adjusting the site, I slowly scanned the treeline concentrating on the stand of pines. When my eyes saw the pop of bright orange amid the sea of green, I stopped. Focusing, I was awe-struck. There on a branch high up in the pines, stood a pair of adult bald eagles. Magnificent. The unmistakable white head and the bold orange beak and feet - times two - . The pair stood on the limb looking out over the woods. They were majestic and I was spellbound.
I didn't see a nest, but paired eagles are known to visit the same site year after year. As my friend LeAnn said, I am really enjoying my new home. As I am sitting at my breakfast table typing this, I saw a red shouldered hawk fly past the window with a 'catch' in its claws. For someone who enjoys nature as much as I do, this is an ideal place to live. Since I have been in this house just five months, I haven't done much in the way of decorating. I think I will convert the screened porch to a room full of binoculars insect repellent and bird books...
While I'm on the subject, I guess I'll mention that the other day, Ruca and Gracie were barking wildly at somehting on the ground. I have seen this before - a baby bird tossed or fallen from a nest. As I went to investigate, it was immediately apparent that it was not a bird. It looked like a pile of dog poop (a rather common sight in my yard!)it looked like a pile of poop, until in uncoiled! It was not the common black garden snake that I had seen before. It was about two feet long, with a small head and a thick body and the body was a mud-grey color. The dogs continued to bark and the snake slithered toward the canal, stopping and rearing up to hiss at Ruca. My first thought was that it was a cotton mouth. (POISONOUS!) I watched as it slid out of sight, and grabbed my "Reptiles and Amphibians" reference guide. It could have been a brown water snake. It could have been a cotton mouth. It's aggressive manner hints at cotton mouth, but for my safety sake, i want it to have been a brown water snake.
I promise that this blogg will not become "Michelle's Wild Life Adventures"

Lovely

2010-04-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

I Love My Dog.

Gracie was on the couch next to me the other night and I 'just happened' to have my camera. She looked adorable on the pillow - the pillow cover which is quilted by my mom - one of my favorites.

Isn't she beautiful?!

otter chatter

2010-04-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

The other night after work I was in the back yard assessing the condition of my (still) potted plants - plants I've cared for in (what are now) very large pots. Gracie and Ruca were romping, and both halted along the canal. Both were poised at something in the water. I looked over, and saw the wake of some sudden submergence. Immediately the other canal bank was alive with motion. An otter poked his round wiskered face out of the water and looked at me. Gracie barked like a lunatic, but Ruca sat quiet responding to my command. Another otter of equal size slid off the far bank, into the water and slinked up behind the first guy. They looked right at me for an adorable moment, and then darted away. "Ollie Otter! Did you see Ollie Otter?" I giggled to the dogs.

Several weeks ago, I was sitting in the breakfast nook (as I am now...it's a nice place to sit....) when I looked out over the lawn and saw movement at the base of a stand of trees. It wasn't until I saw the animal move that I could tell it was an otter. Seeing the pair of otter the other night was not a surprise, but none the less a wonderful treat. So this evening, I was in the back yard watering many of those plants in very large pots, when action was going on in the canal. I looked to see a pair of otter exiting the canal on the far bank; one right behind the other. "I'm going to get my camera" I said to myself, although I knew that by the time I returned, the otter may well be gone. I came back outside and looked out over the still water. I noticed a dragonfly and thought I'd snap him:

As I stood searching the bank for otter occurrances, I saw a cat... stepping among the branches higher up along the bank. I fixed my stare on him; was it a ferral domestic cat, or was it a bobcat?

I was absolutely fascinated. I was so fascinated that I was slow on the camera trigger. I could have had much better shots. He sat there looking at me like I was some sort of a loser.

So I ask you: ferrel domestic cat? or bobcat?

A Coupla Days Off

2010-03-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

How quickly a few days off can pass - Some were very fruitful, and some were very stoic. While my intention was to just have a few days off to ...chill... when some would ask if I was going anywhere or doing anything I responded that I had no set plans, but still had a large number of boxes to unpack. Organizing the garage is a goal, mostly because nearly every time I need a tool or cleaning product or particular flower vase or book - I'm climbing through the boxes or cupboards. I did manage to get Beach Glass to come out and remove the wall of mirrors in the master bedroom and the very large mirror in the bath. Now I can begin the project of removing that god-awful wallpaper.

I sure got my work cut out for me. Some folks say, "hire somebody to do that..." but this is something I can do - I can't do plumbing and not too keen on electrical - but removing wallpaper I can do. Problem is, there's so stinkin' much of it. And it was glued on to stay forever. I paid $150 to have the mirrors removed; it was worth it to me. The mirrors in the bedroom were glued on - well, see for yourself:

now I gotta figure out how to remove the glue... the white part of the wall was the main, center mirror that was five feet wide. There were two, one-foot panels on either side. As my friend neener says, 'good-bye seventies!'

So I have my work cut out for me. Then I became annoyed with the appearance of the front yard. A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a bird of paradise, a dozen or so golden shrimp plants and just as many pentas. I intended to plant then in the planter by the front entrance, but after I bought them I feared they would not get enough sunlight in the planter. I decided to plant them in the yard in front of the planter which had full sun for 4-5 hours. I planted them, and put the Invisible Fence flags around them to keep the dogs out. A few days after, the HOA asked me to remove the flags ('the rules say...' ) . I removed them, and it was only a matter of days before the dogs had nearly destroyed every golden shrimp, and about half of the penta. The front yard was a grey dirt pile and getting worse. So Saturday morning I drove to Home Depot. As I was driving down Gladiolus, I recalled my sister Debbie pointing out a nursery on the south side of the road and asked whether I'd ever been there. I hadn't. I guess we go back to what we know, and I knew Home Depot. As I was passing, I looked it over from the road, and it was a very substantial nursery, geared more for commercial customers. I was heading to Home Depot to buy sod, and as I passed this nursery, there was a sign out front that read SOD . I should stop there, I said to myself. But by that time I was under the fly-over and Gladiolus was under heavy construction. I got to Home Depot, and there was no sod. I didn't ask anyone, they were quite busy and full of lots of perrenials. I had been there last week and saw scant pallets of sod, but this day - no sod. I left and headed to that nursery.

I pulled in and had a brief but pleasant conversation with a man who walked in to the store behind me, and turns out he worked there. He could sell me sod by the piece. They charge a dollar a piece. I told him I needed enough for 14 square feet and he said I'd need half a pallet. What was I driving? "Well you'll need to make a couple of trips. The sod's out back behind us here, so how 'bout you pull around and we'll see how many we can get in one load."

I got home with 33 sheets in the back of my car. First I had to do was dig out the bird of paradise and what penta I could save, Plant the bird of paradise in the planter (yes, the one I had originally intended!), added three peace lilies behind the bird, and then had to rake and clean up the dirt lot. Then I started laying the sod. It was actually fun. I love the smell of the rich earth. I love the look of the young, green grass. I like putting together a puzzle, laying each piece in a snug fit.

I returned to the nursery and picked up another 30 sheets. Of course by now I was quite dirty and had to semi-change just to get in my car. The fellow from the morning was not around, and another young man came out to load the sod. Actually I'm not sure if he helped me or I helped him. But we were down to the end of the pallet and there was no more. I returned home and layed the rest, finishing just about sunset, which worked well as I drank a red stripe and watered the newly placed lawn. It felt good.

Fixing Dinner!

2010-03-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'm having a blast. I took a few days vacation from work to just enjoy my new home. Tonight's dinner was pasta primavera with shrimp. Here's a pic of the preparation. How fun...I had Abba on the stereo while I drank pinot grigio...Mamma Mia!

A Happy St. Paddy's!!

2010-03-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Wearin' The Green!

T'was quite the happty time on St. Paddy's Day~! Mary Ann O'Connor DeMars can for certain cook up the tastiest corned beef 'n' cabbage...an' the best lot o' potatoes!

Kate and Sarah havin' the luck o' the Irish!

Going Once, Going Twice....????

2010-03-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

"Go-on, go-on and play with them. They live across the street and they are the Gradys." It was my dad encouraging me and a couple other siblings to go outside to that lined up group of kids. We'd just moved in to the house at 63 Fairview Avenue, in Mount Pocono, PA. It was the summer of 1964.

My mother's family was in Ohio. Her 10th child was just 3 years old. I was too young at the time to realize what an adjustment it had to have been for her. But as the years went on, my mom developed her creative side. She'd always been a master seamstress, but living in rural northeatern PA, she became interested in antiques and collectables. "K's Dec-or -tiques" was the banner she asked me to make for her when she set up in the weekly flea market down on 611 just before Brocks drugstore. She would go to local auctions, and I would tag along. I was fascinated by the whole process. Mom would buy stuff - furniture, pictures, boxes of stuff, and turn it into treasures. Some of her specialties were trunks; she'd refinish the hardware, replace the lining. In later years, she lamented that the current trend was to keep as original condition as possible. She'd frequently say she regreted not knowing, then, not to ruin "the patena".

Whenever I hear someone mention an heirloom, antique or collectable and ask, "What do you think it's worth?" I hear my mother's response, "It's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it." Through the years we witnessed that with avon bottles and beanie babies.

But mom also taught me what to look for. I learned about furniture styles and periods, dovetail construction; how to sound the ring of cut glass; carnival glass, hobnail; reading the stamp 'sterling' .

Since I grew up with "antiqueing" and auctions, it was my passion that I introduced to my husband and children. Once Pete got the hang of it and understood the bidding process, he loved it. I still do.

Today I drove to Alva, Florida to attend an estate auction. I learned of the auction in the local weekly shopper. The ad gives a brief description of merchandise and the address date and time, and then their website. Alva is a community about an hours drive north east of here. Alva is your agricultural south central florida don't bother nobody community. The website had pictures of some of the items, and I focused on a bed frame (headboard, footboard and side rails), a wrought iron floor lamp, and some garden furniture and supplies. Preview was 9 AM and sale started at 10.

I woke shortly after 7 this morning. I felt pretty good, well rested. If I was to get to the auction by start of the preview, I would have to leave at 8:00... I wasn't so eager to rise and shine, but finally pulled out of the garage at 9:00 am.

When I was trying to decide what I wanted to do and where I wanted to live, I always kept Alva in the corners of my mind. There's some thing almost magical about Alva. Fields and farm animals ...flora fauna. Even this evening returning home, I mused about how nice it'd be to own a small cottage and some land in Alva.

I arrived shortly after ten, finding a fenced in hay field at the end of a gravel road that abutted a pen of pygmy goats. It looked like a parking lot, so, I pulled in. A young fella lanky and lean was walking through the entrance. " Think i can park in there?" I called to him. " Should be a spot right along that white van." he called back. I pulled in, parked, grabbed my bag and hopped out. "Oh no, ma'am - you can't park there - they wont be able ta get out..." another man called. "You might try up again' that red truck."

I walked into the yard... and it was the yard of a woman's home between her garages, pens, sheds and green houses. This was Alva. The auctioneer stood on a 3-step stool amidst feets of tables covered with rows of stuff. I've been to all kinds of auctions from the most common to the nearly most elite. This was the most common. and that was cool.

Merchandise went dirt cheap. He moved it. Most of the stuff was $3 $5 $10. Most of the first stuff was junk. There was a great amount of glassware. Glassware is highly collectible. I have more stinkin glassware than I ever could want, and, so, regardless of whether any of it was highly collectible, I was marginally interested.

Throughout the sale, it became apparent that there were a number of dealers. Some folks bought all kinds of stuff.. and a lot of all kinds of stuff. The auctioneer knew many of them by name. Some of my stunners: an oak drafting table sold for $45.00. A set of two solid oak, marble inset top square end tables sold for $25.oo for both. A full-size cedar armoir sold for $30.00. A cedar storage / hope chest sold for $20.00. I was paying attention to the furniture, but I know there had to have been stunners in the glassware. Fred Roenigk, the auctioneer, was moving it.

"Okay... let's bring the guns out." the aucti0neer called. Several folks slapped their pockets. "Whoa!" he called. "I'm in Alva! Can't call to bring the guns out! not knowing what folks'll do!" Folks chuckled to his humor. I'm not a gun collector, as a matter of fact I am repulsed by guns, but managed to realize that these guns were collectibles. I diverted my attention only to hear some fella come forward, and swiping his hand across his face, said, "Oh, I can't bid on those, I got me a record!" A woman next to me called, " Friends help friends bury the body!" I guess it was an 'inside' joke.

Iwas there until nearly 4:00 Pm. all the time, the auctioneer was on. That man worked hard for his money. Dang. I was tired just watching him! He was still going when I left. I was interested in the bed, but, upon seeing it, realized it was a king size, and my bed is a full size. I was willing to gamble on the size difference if it went cheap enough, but, there was a starter reserve bid of $300.00. ( it wasn't worth $300 to me). I cashed out, loaded my stuff and headed home.

I didn't mention the Christmas plates. I remember Pete's mom collected 7-inch, blue plates and had them hung in her family dining area. Today I saw a small stack of 4 of those plates. While the auctioneer was working his way through the pottery and glassware, he was anxious to move the stuff and get to selling the furniture in the house,. At one point, while moving through the tables, he asked, 'what else'. I said, "the Christmas plates" . I offered $10 and no one else bid. I could have lo-balled, but, why...they are Royal Copenhagen. I got 4 for $10, when 1 could sell for as much as $30.

I had a lot of fun today! The ironic twist here, tho, is...that today is the day of the 52nd annual Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival Parade! I don't think i've missed it ....ever....! (til now).

2010-03-09T18:33:00.000-08:00

Mandy Patinkin was in my dream, again, last night. Last night he was my hero, savior. In this dream I passed out, and was revived from near death. Why do I dream of this actor? There's some weird kind of thing going on.
My mind is flooded with thoughts and scripts that I want to write down, but, where do I go first!
Tonight was election night. We had 2 seats open, 3 candidates. Results, one incumbent and one new council member. I'm bored with my job; my one personal goal was to acheive my certification as a Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC). I achieved that last month after 3+ years. I need new goals career-wise.
I love my house! Buying this house was the satisfaction of another dream come true. Now, I need to rid myself of that god-awful wallpaper in the master suite and the guest bath...and paint the turqoise and pink walls! Not to mention my dreams for the gardens!
Gracie is growing into such a wonderful companion. She's easily confused, distracted, mischevious, misguided...! HA! The list could be endless. She's a baby girl, is what she is. Right now she's prancing among the kitchen cabinets. She's not hungry; she's just 'nosy...sniffin'.....bored...lookin'..." It's worked out nicely with her and the invisible fence... I Love! the invisble fence~! What's even worked, (shush this!).. I've used the Invisble Fence flags to cover newly planted gardens that I dont' want the dogs to dig up! Gracie's got a degree in excavation, and will dig up any and everything! so I use the flags to surround new plantings so she won't dig;m up. IT WORKS.
Right now, Mannheim Steamroller is on the stereo, playing "Slow Dancing in the Living Room". I love this song. I find it very very sexy. Iwould love to be slow dancing to this in the living room with someone I love. This might be on my list of new goals: slow dance in the living room with someone I love.
Wow. that last one was scary.
My children are doing fabulously. One of my goals was to provide them with reliable transportation, and, I believe that has been succesfully acheived. Sarah drives a 2005 Element, and La's in the 2003 Civic. Right now, La's Civic is paid in full, but I pay her auto insurance. Sarah's Element - she'll be in for a rude awakening come Oct 2010 when she takes over payments. At least she pays her own insurance!
My vacations the past two years have been wonderful! On my list of goals; visiting Washington State, and Alaska. Hard to beat! Now I'm focusing on what to place as my next vacation destination. I love the idea of visiting the National Parks, and could cross off quite a few in the course of my past vacations. As I wound down last year's trip, I contemplated where Iwould vacation next, and Yellowstone plays prominently. That's a work in progress!!
Time to Set New Goals.

This is such a vomit of ideas. I apologize to you for that. I have so much filtering in my mind. I have such a wonderful life. Life is wonderful; to be able to dream, imagine, and live all that you imagine - (i think there's some Thoreau in there, )

too much o' nothin'

2010-03-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

I am feeling a bit meloncholy, and without explanation. I feel somewhat at the crossroads, or a turning point, yet am unclear of my direction or destination. It makes for a weird sense; I'm not at the junction, just yet, yet,... know I am approaching it without firm knowledge of destination. It's a very weird feeling.
And I know I have just, basically, said...nothing.

What'cha wearin' under there?

2010-03-01T20:36:00.000-08:00

The six o'clock local news covered the sentencing of two young men in the murder of two other young men. I caught myself considering what must be in their mind to commit such a crime; and to commit such a crime at such a young age. I didn't think of it very long, because it made me sad. I turned off the TV and put the stereo on. Much better.
I put on a Willie Nelson CD. I love Willie - I love the smooth easy he has, with that twang of mischief. 'Always on My Mind'. Maybe I didn't treat you quite as good as I should have; Maybe I didn't love you quite as often as I should have. It makes me think about my failed marriage. I'm just now beginning to allow myself to let go of the hurt. I'm starting to admit to my failings. Maybe I didn't love him. When I asked him why, he answered, "I thought you didn't love me."
I'm humored by a memory of a comment from brother Ken. "You didn't ask for the right thing!" he commented when I told him how I employed the Law of Attraction and creative visualization. When I was approaching my 28th birthday, I recall affirming that I was ready to settle down; I was ready for a life time committed relationship. I asked for someone to love me.
I asked for someone to love me - then I hear Grace Slick asking, don't I want somebody to love, don't I need somebody to love. And Queen "find me somebody to love.." I'd had it all wrong!!
I had asked for someone to love me when in fact, I did need to find me somebody to love.
Lately I seem to notice couples that have a good marriage, or a good relationship. "He's the love of my life" Linda said when talking about Bob, her husband of 20+ years. I walked into my boss's office and heard him finish his phone conversation with his wife, and he said, "I love you, too." They are married nearly 20 years. ( I got a "Yo'"..)
I've digressed, and you've just gotten a peak at my underwear.

TIME

2010-02-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

I am amazed at the time between today and my last post. It seems like yesterday, to me. Those of you who know me, know I have difficulty with the concept of time. I know that it is not a condition in which we live, rather a mode in which we think. I know that because I believe that, but I have trouble putting my arms around that.

She's so special.

2010-02-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

A couple years ago, I was gearing myself up to get a dog. When I divorced in September of 2005, the two labs I had raised went with my ex-husband. It had been a few years, and I was feeling ready for a canine companion. We had always had labs. It was December 15, 1988, and Pete and Sarah drove to Miami and bought Vanna, a 10-week old female yellow lab. Two years later, friends gave us Max, then a nine-month old male yellow lab. We were Max's third family; we guessed the original owners mistreated him, a as he was very skittish, especially around men. He also knew the sound of a can opener, so we assumed he'd been raised on canned food. Max was a beautiful, square-headed, broad-chested dog of champion blood line. Vanna died in 1998, and it was obvious that Max missed her. And so did my daughters. In June of 1998, we bought Middy, female yellow lab pup. Max died in 2002, and a year later, Pete and Sarah and Lauren traveled to Miami to buy a male yellow lab. This was the first day of the world series, and the Florida Marlins were playing. We brought home our new pup, and rather tongue-in-cheek, said that if the Marlins won the world series, we'd name him Marlin. Well, the Marlins DID win the world series, and so we named him Marlin. None of us really liked the name, and it was awkward to say. Marlin was the worst dog to house-break. I'm not sure what was so different with him, but one thing was certain: I had never seen a dog that could pee as much as this dog. One day Sarah picked him up, and he was all wet from having just pee'd himself, and she joked, "We should call you Wizzer!" It stuck. So in 2005 I moved out and left Middy and Wizzer with Pete. After several years of being canine-less, I was preparing to change that.

Although I loved the labs we had, I was enamored with the Weimaraner. I thought they were absolutely beautiful, and especially liked the blue weims. I can't explain where it came from, but I wanted a blue female weim, and I'd name her Gracie. I spent a good deal of time reading up on the breed. I also searched the internet for breeders. It appeared I would have to travel to Georgia or the Carolinas to get a weim. I was in no hurry and figured it would happen when the time was right. Then one day in October 2008, a Friday afternoon, everything seemed to be 'going to hell in a handbasket' at work. When my computer refused to cooperate, I walked out of my office in exasperation, walked in to the break room, grabbed the classifieds from the News-Press and sat down aimlessly reading. There it was: 10-week old weimaraner pups for sale. I tore the ad out of the paper and took it home.

That evening, as I was surfing the net to see if I may have missed any article on weimaraners, I decided to call. A man in cape coral had both parents; he was not a breeder, however this was the only time his female had pups. They were pure breds, AKC registered, had the tail docked, dew claws removed, and current on shots. He had one female and one male left. The female was a blue. It was meant to be. The next day, Sarah, Lauren and I drove to Cape Coral and brought home our 10-week old female blue weimaraner. My life hasn't been the same, since.

In all my pre-Gracie reading, I read that it is better to resist washing the coats of the weim; instead, wipe them down with a damp cloth and give them a good brushing. For a year and a half, Gracie has not been bathed. I would rinse her off after being at the beach, but she'd act as if I was torturing her, so the rinse-offs were hurried and brief. When we saw Dr. Patterson last month, I asked him about the bathing (she was starting to smell). He shook his head and said, "not in Florida - you're not going to dry her coat out by bathing her - " So for several weeks, now, I've been planning to bathe her. The problem is it's been sooo cold lately! I came home from work last night, and opened the door to my bedroom. My bedroom smelled like a stinky dog. It was time.

I decided to wash her in my shower. It's a walk-in, and has a hand-held shower head. I lined up a couple of clean towels, lit some candles, put some classical music on the stereo and pulled out a bar of lemongrass soap (that I'd been given at one of the luxury resorts I'd stayed at). I anticipated this not being an easy thing to do, knowing how much Gracie hates the water. (She won't even pee in the rain! she goes under the arecas to have a cover!) I removed her 'correction' collar and put a small choker collar on her and grabbed a leash. (I knew I'd have a fight on my hands getting her in the shower). I put on a swim suit, started the shower to get the bathroom warm and steamy and gave Gracie a good brushing down. I turned off the shower, slathered coconut oil all over Gracie, concentrating heavily on her elbows and pads and massaged it into her coat. Speaking sweetly and encouragingly, I opened the shower door and coaxed Gracie inside. NO WAY. She firmly planted her feet on the floor and pulled back. I had her by the leash and the collar was as tight as it could be. Gosh, I didn't want to hurt her, but she was fighting back so strongly! I picked her up and walked in to the shower and her front paws grabbed onto the side of the door. What a sight!

Gracie doesn't do well on tile or linoleum - she has very long nails that don't retract. I should have put a towel or matt on the shower floor - it was as if she were on ice. (Hind-sight is 20-20!)
I let her 'get her footing' and sniff around. She was shaking and cowering near the door. Poor thing. I slowly turned on the water, and kept the shower head near the floor. Once the water was warm and comfortable, I slowly started it toward her. She jerked away at first, but then slowly began to tolerate it. As I allowed the water to gradually soak her down, cascading over her backside and saturating the sleek grey coat, it appeared as if she - was, actually.... enjoying it?

I turned off the water, lathered up a washcloth with the lemongrass soap and washed her down. I washed her feet and between her toes and scrubbed her coat and swabbed her head. I rinsed her, gently, and this time she really did seem to enjoy the water! I turned off the shower and opened the shower door. Gracie was like a greyhound out of the gate! I grabbed hold of her, put a towel over her head and another over her back. The bathroom floor looked like a war zone, and she bee-lined toward the bedroom. I put an old blanket over the bedspread, and called Gracie up on the bed. I dried her off carefully and thoroughly. She was lovin' this part! As I dried her, she stretched out and rolled over - behaviour I have rarely seen from her. She seemed to really be enjoying the attention. I finished her off with some lavender massage oil, working that into her coat, and a final brushing.

Gracie pranced out into the living room. Clearly, she was 'all that'. Her 's**t didn't stink' - she was fancy, she was special. She'd had a shower! I think it changed her! Today her coat glistens and she doesn't smell like a dog. She almost smells sweet. I think we need to make showering a regular occurance!

dreamin' my life

2010-02-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

Dreams really do come true.
There is Magic.
Observe Less, Imagine More.
observe less, imagine more. Therefore, 'all that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream'.
Dream more.
Ask, and you shall receive.
What you focus on, you attract.
I Am Who Am.

A dream is a wish, your heart makes.

Interpretations welcomed

2010-01-30T08:20:00.000-08:00

In last night's dream, I was hosting a large dinner party. All the guests were people I barely knew. The food was served on a large buffet table. I was sitting at a table and plucked a strawberry from the desert plate (I was really hungry and hadn't had breakfast). I then announced that dinner was served. I felt anxious and nearly annoyed, as I didn't really know any of these people, and I wasn't exactly enjoying myself. After what I determined was a couple of hours, I began to clean up the dishes. There were bus trays full of every dish imaginable. I announced, "OK Folks, either help clean up or clear out..." Some folks promptly made their farewells, some pitched in to help clean up, while still a few threw comments about how rude I was. Mandy Patinkin came up to me (I know...how weird is that...he would think me a stalker!) and in that gentle demeaner that he portrays as Agent Gideon, he said, "So did you have fun at your party? It was a nice party, you should be set for awhile. I noticed you ate your desert, first - (referring to the strawberry!) you should take care of yourself." Then he placed the flat of his hand on my abdomen.

From http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary

Party
To dream that you are at a party, suggests that you need to get out more and enjoy yourself. If the party is bad, then it indicates that you are unsure of your social skills.
(hmmm... .chin-scratch...)

Strawberry
To see or eat strawberries in your dream, signifies your sensual desires and temptation. Strawberries is often associated with feminine qualities and female sexuality. Alternatively, to see strawberries in your dream indicates that your ideas and goals are soon realized.
(woohoo!!)

Dishes
To see dishes in your dream, represents ideas, concepts, and attitudes. The dream may be a pun on the things you are "dishing" out to others. Or it could describe someone you are interested in as in someone who is a "dish". Perhaps it is time that you make the first move. If the dishes are dirty and unwashed, then it signifies dissatisfaction and an unpromising outlook. You may have overlooked some problems in your life or you have not confronted your emotions.
To dream that you are washing dishes, suggests that you are moving on and planning for the next thing that comes your way. Alternatively, it represents your daily routine. Perhaps you are in a rut.

Celebrities
To see a celebrity in your dream, represents your beliefs and understanding about him or her. Something in you waking life has triggered these similar beliefs and feelings. It is not uncommon that your obsession with a certain celebrity may carry over onto your dream world. Celebrities are often seen as heroes and all that is mighty. Also consider any puns within the name.
To dream that you are good friends with a celebrity, represents your idealized version of someone you know in your life. Perhaps you hope that a real-life friend can act more like a particular celebrity. Consider the qualities that you see in this celebrity and how you want your friends to have those qualities.

Abdomen
To see your abdomen in a dream, refers to your natural instincts and repressed emotions. There is something in your real life that you "cannot stomach" or have difficulties accepting. You need to get it out of your system. Alternatively, the abdomen may be strictly physiological and you may just be experiencing constipation or indigestion.

choice corrections

2010-01-28T19:01:00.000-08:00

I have noticed that I am becoming jaded. I have lost touch with sensitivity to my fellow being. Perhaps commuting in automobiles attributes to it, as that’s the first correction I receive.
For several years, I rode a bicycle to work. It was great…it was actually quicker to bicycle than to drive or walk. I have always owned a “beach cruiser:” and it was perfect… Then I decided to buy a house and move off of the island, so even though the drive is only 5 miles, it is a drive in the car in traffic.
I jockey for position; I don’t let others cut in when a merge lane approaches. I maneuver the alternating light as if it were a contest. In the left (pass) lane, I curse the out of state geriatric driver that is rubber-neckin’ at a sub speed. Sometimes I honk in irritation.
I need a correction collar, just like Gracie has with the invisible fence. When I approach being out of bounds, a sensor should go off to “correct” me. I am having to reel myself in.
Over the course of the past six months, I have busied myself with everything else except my spiritual reading. By that I mean books that enrich my spirituality. I am a huge fan of Edgar Cayce, and recently books on the Essenes, and the Tibetan monks and remnants of Atlantis. These readings keep me grounded in what is real. My current favorite, and Shell’s-Bells Recommended Reading:
THE CHILDREN OF THE LAW OF ONE & THE LOST TEACHINGS OF ATLANTIS” by Jon Peniel.
This book is very deep, for me. I am ingesting the words, little by little. Some of it is bitter fruit to swallow. That is when and where my reading stalls.
If the choices we make are not in tune with the universal consciousness, then we are not achieving our goal; that goal being to all become one, again.
The manuscripts that are said to be referenced in this book serve as my correction collar when my thinking falls out of line.

Here is my interpretation of some of the readings:

Every moment we come upon another
Fork in the Road
Every moment we choose
Our Way Our Destiny
Every Action creates Reactions
Choosing not to act, is an action with a reaction
No Choice Have You
But to Choose
Choose you WILL
Where you are
Where you have been
Where You will be
Is affected by Your Choice
Our Consciousness is the result
of our own Choosing
Where you are is
Where you have come
Where you WILL go
Is decided by how you are
With Free WILL we choose our Destiny
We were destined to Choose
The destiny we have Freely Chosen
Posted by Michelle at 5:38 PM
(originally posted Sep 1, 2009)

Please re read the above focusing on Choice and Will.

Blank

2010-01-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

I have sat here with a blank page for about 20 minutes. I feel an obligation to enter in the journal, but have nothing I want to write.
So, I've sat blank.
And you get
Blank.

Natural beauty

2010-01-24T06:57:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you the beauty of this rose that I cut from my garden. I wish I could share with you the intoxicatingly beautiful frangrance it emits. As I sit looking out over the lawn, shadows move across the ground in an eerie way. Several large ravens circle above the trees. Yesterday, as I read an e-mail in which the writer claimed to have just seen his first red cardinal of the year, I heard the all-too-familiar song, and turned to see a male cardinal lighting on the bird bath. At sundown, I looked out over the vista to see a great horned owl touch down on the lawn.

Yesterday I had a new dishwasher installed. The mystery of the water is concluded. Now, perhaps, I can begin to focus on other home improvement projects. I don't know what to do first -

I think the world is watching football today. I don't - the only reason I know that there's play-offs today is because other folks tell me their plans revolve around watching games. I don't think I could care less about anything...

a simple saturday

2010-01-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

It was a long, hard work-week. I got home last night about sundown. I put the dogs out (Gracie can roam free, but poor Ruca has to be on the line...she needs 'the collar'...), read the mail - all very boring - poured a martini and plopped in front of the boob tube and channel-surfed. TV is pretty droll. I enjoy the program, Criminal Minds and blindly watched back to back episodes. Hard to say what it is that I like about this program, but it may be the 'profiling'...and of course 'agent Gideon'. Mandy Patinkin is very, very good in this show. Somewhere around the beginning of the third episode, which began with a hooded man sneaking into a woman's home, hiding in her closet, then bludgeoning her to death in her sleep, I had enough! "What you focus on, you attract" I told myself as I turned off the TV, closed the sliding glass doors and went to bed. After a few hours' sleep, I heard Sarah come home. It was 3 AM. Ruca had been sleeping in Gracie's bed at the foot of my bed, but when her 'mom' came home, she ran to greet her. Gracie had been in my bed (cuz Ruca was in hers!) and she is the worst bed-mate. She literally sleeps on top of me.
I woke at 7 AM to the sound of Gracie barfing....great....she and her partner in crime had gotten into the trash the day before, and the chicken wings had come back up. What a way to start the day.....I cleaned it up and went back to bed. One of my greatest pleasures is going back to bed.
It's Saturday morning of a 3-day weekend, and I'm sitting here looking at the very over-cast sky. I have no plans for the weekend, only several things I should do, and a few things I want to do. I should buy a dishwasher.... I'd like to get out to the beach to visit friends who are over at their beach house for the weekend from the east coast. I should mow the lawn and get some of these plants out of pots and into the ground. I'd like to take Gracie to a dog park, or to the beach. .. I should clean bathrooms, ...do laundry..... woulda ....shoulda ... coulda....
Meanwhile, on a 'no plans' day, I sit with my coffee and peanut butter toast, listening to the drip-drip-drip of the copper water line that used to be attached to the dishwasher, looking out over the lawn at the wax myrtle tree i planted last weekend... hoping it survives, as it looks pretty sun-burned... the young mango trees I planted also are getting way too much sun...a good location for a more mature tree, perhaps.... I'll have to keep a watch on those.... Gracie is out burying a bone. Chester, the neighbor's macaw, is screaching at the gardener next door, otherwise, it's a very quiet Saturday morning.

To blog or not to blog...

2010-01-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

I kind of felt a little guilty, like I was prying into your private life or the life of your family. But then, since it was on the web, I figured I could read on......

and,

Then I realized I KNEW you and felt voyeur-ish!!

Above are two separate comments from two separate friends, commenting on my blog. How different is it from those who write memoirs? My main goal in 'blogging' is to write. As any art, practice makes perfect. If I want to some day be published, I need to practice. 'Publishing' on the internet gives me a mold to follow, a reason to edit and polish.

so thank you. thank you for reading my blog, and thank you for your comments. and I hope that we will have an enduring relationship.
Michelle

I've been plumbed...

2010-01-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

$385.00 later I have a cleared sink / sewer line and a brand new garbage disposal. I also have a "shot" dishwasher.
I called Aztec Plumbing this morning and was pleased that they were able to have a technician out her at 3:00 this afternoon. Seeing that water was dripping from the bottom of the disposal, the tech determined the disposal was bad, removed it and showed me the damaged unit. When I asked him a few questions about the pipe lines etc., and asked why is it that the right side drain is clogged if it was the disposal. He looked surprised, and agreed to check it out after he installed the new disposal.
50' of snake and 30 nearly 30 minutes later, and the drain ran clear. Some of the blades were bad, as well, in the old disposal, so they weren't chopping the food up small enough.
whatever...
When I mentioned that I believed the discharge line on the dishwasher was bad, he disagreed, as it hooks into the garbage disposal. He opined that it was more likely some gasket or seal on the dishwasher itself. I showed him the inspection report identifying the damaged copper water line in the attic, and he quickly added that it would be better to repipe: a proposal of $3070. Of course that's cpvc, not copper, and 1/4 turn valve and new hosebibs and braided supplies at all fixtures - blah blah blah. Oh - and for an additional $350, install a new water heater. (such a deal). I think I'll stew on this awhile.

Oh the joys of home ownership.

the mystery of the water part VI

2010-01-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

The day after the discovery of the dishwasher discharge, (which happened to be New Year's Eve morn) I had a conversation with Ken M. who is a friend as well as a building inspector. I told him what I had discovered. He said it makes perfect sense, especially in light of the fact that the house was vacant for so long, and the age of the dishwasher. He said those rubber hoses can get dry-rotted, and when they/ I began using the dishwasher with such enthusiasm, the hose expanded and contracted and then probably cracked. He also went on to say that it should be a relatively simple fix: a hose from Home Depot or Lowes and pull out the dishwasher and replace it.
When it comes to water and electric, I'm pretty chicken. I was happy to FINALLY find the source of the leak. I was willing to do without the dishwasher for a short while. I would assess the matter.
New Year's Eve and the holiday weekend saw some record cold temperatures here in SW FLA. I pulled the two turkey carcasses from Thanksgiving out of the freezer and decided to make Turkey Frame Soup. I boiled down the carcasses and Sarah removed the major bones. I put the broth and the turkey in the fridge and would make the soup the next day. Saturday afternoon I sliced and diced carrots, celery, onion, sauteed, added corn and seasonings, and made a wonderful pot of turkey soup (complete with large egg noodles).
In the process, I had liberal use of the garbage disposal. I ran plenty of cold water with its use. You guessed it: drain clog.
How do you plunge a clogged drain in a 2-sided sink? Plug one side and plundge the other. Ever try that solo? I have been plundging with great faith - but little luck.
I spent Monday from 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM in Council meeting. Then Tuesday AM from 8:30-11:30 in staff meetings. Never a chance to call a plumber. I talked to some friends about "knowing somebody" that I could hire to check it out.
Meanwhile, I plundge.

Here it is Wednesday, January 6 and I have a clogged drain and out of commission dishwasher.

The mystery of the water part V

2010-01-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

When I moved in on Nov 4, I moved all my things into the house before I moved out the previous owners’ stuff. In trying to trouble shoot the water, I went through boxes and buckets and drawers and cupboards trying to get my hands on a working flashlight. I changed batteries (rather pleased with myself in finding the box with the replacement batteries) and then changed bulbs – I went through a half dozen various flashlights. At one point, Kev offered a pen-light he had in his truck. Sarah climbed the ladder to the attic but the pen light dimmed and died as soon as she moved away from the stair.
I’ll stop at the hardware store after work tomorrow, I said. We’ll take a look at that leak tomorrow night.
Wednesday nite we had two new bright flashlights. We pulled down the attic ladder, and with a tin pan in hand, Sarah climbed up to check out the leak. (I supervised from below J) After a short while, Sarah climbed back down. “Mom, that’s not the problem – the pipe’s not wet, the insulation and the wall is dry…that’s not the source of the leak….”
Darn.
We put the ladder back up. I poured a glass of wine.
Sarah and I sat down to California pizza and a garden salad. After dinner, I cleaned up the dishes and took a shower. I was in my bedroom readying for bed, when Sarah called, “Mom? Are you still awake?” I opened my bedroom door. “It’s the dishwasher!” Sarah exclaimed. I looked in her room at the cement floor now flooding. The smell of Cascade was pronounced. The water was running from the corner of the bedroom adjoining the kitchen, along the exterior wall (under the window) and pooled in the closet.
I turned off the dishwasher and hauled out the shop vac.
Boy is this getting old…..

intermission

2010-01-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

As intermission from the mystery of the water,

here's a pic of me !

enjoying my company in my new house!

Thanksgiving 2009

The mystery of the water Part IV

2010-01-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

Monday after work I was sitting in the kitchen, at the "breakfast nook" table. Sarah and I were just chatting about various things; some work stuff, some family stuff, and my ever present mystery of the leak. "I know I seem to be obsessed with this..." I would frequently say. It was starting to make me crazy. As we talked, I looked up and saw the patches in the ceiling from the truss repair work that was done the day after I moved in. I wonder if perhaps the guys dinged a pipe or something putting the trusses in... I thought to myself.

At the time of the house inspection, it was noted that 3 or 4 trusses had extensive damage from termites. The previous owners knew of the subterranean termites and had the house treated. They also maintained the annual inspection and treatment. There was no presence of live termites at the time my house was inspected, but some of the trusses over the kitchen area were so badly damaged from the termites, that the inspector urged that I address this damage soon. The next day a local GC came by and gave a quote: $1,000. to "sister-up" the 4 damaged trusses. It would mean bringing the boards up through two cuts to the ceiling over the kitchen. The day after I closed on the house, Mark (the GC) and helper showed up at 9AM and fixed the brittle trusses.
As I looked up and at the patched drywall, (which, BTW, was an awesome job! it matches beautifully!...you wouldn't notice it if you didn't see it done.) I thought about the inspection report......
Monday night went on and Tuesday morning took me to work....all day something nagged at me: I needed to get my hands on my home inspection report. It was somewhere in a pile of all kinds' o' papers, folders, binders....paper.... stacked on the dresser in my bedroom. I'd gone through it quickly the morning before I left for work, and didn't find it. Tues night I found it. It was where a calmer, more careful look would have found it.
I turned to one of the pages with small photos of problem spots. That's what had been nagging at me:
DAMAGED COPPER WATER LINE IN ATTIC- LEAKING NOTED

"Well, there you go!" Sarah quipped when I read it to her. There I go, indeed. I turned to the page which detailed

PLUMBING.

and read:

NOTE: Evidence of leaking is noted at one of the copper lines. This is near a 45 fitting over the kitchen area. This should be checked and repaired by a licensed plumbing contractor.

Well there I go.

The mystery of the water Part III

2010-01-01T13:07:00.001-08:00

I left the rug and pad rolled back in the bedroom for about an hour while I "studied" the situation. The carpet was soaked, and stunk. The padding was soaked. The concrete floor was drying. After about an hour or so of study, I dug out a razor knife from one of the drawers in the garage and tried to cut away at the wet carpet. My logic was that the carpeting throughout the house was old, stained, worn and dirty. Before moving in, I fantasized about putting in wood floors, or laminate, like Pergo. Knowing that I would have hidden expenses, I decided to move in and deal with the cosmetics one at a time. I decided at this time, with saturated stinky dirty carpet, that it was not worth saving. If the wet carpet is gone, I can better gauge where the water's coming from. Plus, my daughter should not have to sleep in such a stinky room.

Well, the razor knife was too dull to make a dent in the carpeting, so I went to the kitchen and grabbed the knife that I used to slice the Thanksgiving turkeys. It was indeed sharp. I cut away about 3 feet wide and 8 feet long of wet carpet and padding. The wet carpet and pad was outta there. I hauled it off to the garage to wait for trash day.

I was still scratchin' my head, stewing over this dilemna. Troubleshooting is indeed trouble-some. It was about sundown on a sunday eve. I went back to my belief that it had to be something not tested in the home inspection. Even though I had run several loads of laundry that day, I decided to run "one more". The carpet was up, now, so, any leakage would be apparent. I ran the washing machine, and no leaks. I ran the 'water in the door' on the fridge, ran the ice maker, ran the garbage disposal, ran the showers, the toilets....even the outside faucets. Nuthin'.

I was feelin' a bit stumped.

Holiday Pics!

2010-01-01T12:00:00.001-08:00

The mystery of the water, Part II

2010-01-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

Kev and I patched the gap in the back of the house where the A/C tube came in. (Actually Kev caulked, I 'supervised'). Rain was forcast for the next day, so this will set up in 3 hours. I was at work the next day and called home to ask Lauren to check whether the floor was dry after the rain. It was. whoo hoo!

Several days later, Sarah was moving in her stuff into the 3rd bedroom. She will no longer rent the house on the beach where she's lived for the past 2-3 years. That's a whole 'nother story perhaps for another blog, but this particular evening she was setting up her bed and the knees of her jeans were wet: "This carpet's wet, mom....." I was surprised and puzzled. Sure enough - it was soaked in the corner of the closet and under the window - just as it had been before. I certainly got my money's-worth out of that shop-vac. This time it wasn't quite as much water, but I vacuumed and put the fans on and opened the window to dry it out. What the heck could it be?

There was some theory that the A/C drain was clogged, but that didn't make sense as I hadn't run the A/C since I moved in. It had to be something that wasn't tested in the house inspection before I bought it. The washing machine wasn't tested - but that was on the complete opposite side of the house - but where did the water drain to? The ice maker wasn't on when I moved in: the refrigerator backed the bedroom, so perhaps that's it. I turned it off for a day or so.

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas eve, with a dinner of blackened ahi tuna and short ribs, baked potato, fresh broccoli and carrots and a garden salad. We opened our gifts late into the evening. Christmas day we went to the Beach for a great dinner with my brother and his family.

The day after Christmas I was doing chores, including several loads of laundry. At one point I checked on the carpet only to find that it was again saturated. Days earlier, I pulled away the carpet and pad in the closet to expose the concrete pad. I was able to look directly at the floor to see any new wetness. With this current flooding, I pulled away more of the carpet into the bedroom under the window. The rubber pad underneath was saturated. I pulled Sarah's bed away from the wall, only to discover that the carpet was soaked the whole length of the room along the back wall. I pulled back 2-3 feet to expose the concrete floor, which was puddled with water. Shop Vac time again.

This is so darned puzzling.......

The mystery of the water

2009-12-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

I love a mystery, a puzzle; finding a lost item, discovering the root. I sure had a challenge on my hands here in my new home. It began with some water damage in the 3rd bedroom. When I first discovered it, it was shortly after a day and a half of very heavy rain. There is one good-sized window in this room, and the cill is only about a foot from the floor. I had placed a desk in front of the window, and it was nearly 2 weeks after moving in that I was sitting at the desk and realized my foot was tapping a soggy carpet. My first thought was that the rain water had come in through the open window. I shut the window, sopped the moisture up with a towel, turned the ceiling fan on and didn't give it much further thought.
About a week or so later, after having had the window closed and the fan on, I decided to check on the dampness of the carpet. I was aghast to discover that the carpet was even wetter than it had been before. I called in sick to work (although I did have a physical ailment: I must've scratched my eye in my sleep and it was swollen!) and then hauled out the shop-vac. I vacuumed up in excess of 6 gallons of water. I called brother Ken and asked him to help me trouble shoot.
It was 9 AM on a Friday morn, and I'm sure Kenny had his hands full of a dozen or so other projects. He was kind and patient and walked me through the steps: was it the exterior wall, was the ceiling wet, drywall, etc. The first thing to look at was a gap in the outside wall where the air conditioning pipes entered the house. " A little water goes a long way with carpet and drywall" Kenny had said. I bought a tube of silicone and a gun ( later to find a half-dozen of same here in the garage) and Lauren's boyfriend, Kevin, helped me caulk the gap. I was feelin' good.
To Be Continued......

One of those days

2009-12-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

What a fast week! This time of year does go so quickly, however it seems time as we know it accelerates with each year of life as we know it. The tree is up and decorated, all the gifts are all shining in their wraps with flows of bows of red and gold. Friday was our office holiday party. It was pleasant. We had it at Town Hall and during working hours, so there was no alcohol and anyone not wishing to participate could continue working. Every year it's different, because every year we have a new town manager, it seems. As long as I get a paycheck.....

This morning was one of those mornings in which I don't know what to do first. A cold front came through earlier this week, and forecasts are for tomorrow to be in the 40s. I started the day by closing all of the windows in the house, putting on long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, sox and slippers. I was craving hot chocolate or hot cider. Instead, I ran several large golden delicious apples through the juicer and downed 12 onces of fresh apple juice. It was delicious. I baked some spiced pecans, wanting the oven to warm the house a bit, and the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg to fill the air. I don't know how folks in the great white north can stand it. Gracie has the right idea: she's outside laying in the sun.

Speaking of Gracie, she saw Dr. Patterson yesterday for her booster shots. He said she was AWESOME! Sleek, lean with well developed muscles, built for speed. He asked if I ever take her to any of the dog parks, and ventured a guess that other dogs'd have a hard time keeping up with her. That's true. She's like a bullet. Her weight is just under 50 lbs., which is small for the breed, but I'm OK with that. The vet's office carried on a bit about getting her spayed and chipped. Their angle is the cost the county imposes on unspayed, un-chipped dogs; it's exhorbinant. I guess I'll have to figure that into my plans in the course of the next several months. It'll require both time and money; time at home with her after the surgery and several hundred dollars. Cha-ching.

I still don't know whether to go grocery shopping, attack the clutter of partially unpacked boxes, put some trees in the ground, give the dog a bath or take a walk around the lake. It's one of those days when I just don't know where to begin.

There's No Place Like Home

2009-12-13T06:28:00.000-08:00

Well yes indeed, it's been quite some time since my last writing. To say I've been busier'n a one-armed paper hanger would be an understatement. But it's been a good busy. I love my new home, and I love the neighborhood. I'm quite far from settled in, as I still have boxes galore; unfortunately, the majority of those unpacked boxes are stacked in my bedroom. It may have to stay this way for awhile, yet, as the next task on my list is buying and setting up a christmas tree, decorating for christmas, and baking cookies - lots of cookies!

Yesterday was the first day I took Gracie for a walk around the lake since the Invisble Fence was installed on 11/17. The invisible fence folks advise to develop a routine of placing a small rug, towel, or some other symbolic "path" to exit the property, so that the dog isn't confused about why it's OK to leave the yard sometimes and not others. So I took a small area rug, placed it along the driveway by the mailbox, put her harness on (and cleverly removed the "correction" collar) and walked her toward the rug. NO WAY she said with her very strong body language. She wanted nothing to do with going off the yard - rug or not! So I had to pick her up and place her on the rug to exit. Once out of the yard, she was fine - had a ball sniffing all the new scents. This really is a very beautiful community, with lots of mature trees. All the lawns are meticulously landscaped, many very beautiful holiday decorations. When we returned, again Gracie wanted nothing to do with coming back over the "fence", even though her collar was not on. Once again I had to pick her up and carry her into the yard. Perhaps we need to go for more walks, so she gets used to the idea. As an aside, if you or anyone you know is considering getting the Invisible Fence, I say go for it. It's marvelous! I am quite an advocate!

Just as I returned from my walk, a car pulled up with an elderly woman at the wheel. I had seen her out in her driveway as I walked past. She came by to introduce herself and welcome me to the neighborhood. I have to add, here, that this community was built in the early 1980's - my house was one of the first built in 1981. It's deed restricted, but it's not gated. There is very little turn over here; the homes are very upscale (mine is one of the few exceptions!) and there is very little, to no crime. Everyone knows everyone. Earlier this week, I was out in the front yard trying to figure out what kind of trees are growing there, when a white cadillac SUV pulled up, and a nice gentleman introduced himself and welcomed me to the neighborhood. The woman I met yesterday caused me to have a song in my head ever since: Eleanor Rigby. She told me that her husband passed away 2 years ago, that she's from Buffalo NY, goes there from May to October, and wanted to know was I "by myself." She even told me that she'd asked other neighbors whether "the woman that moved into Jack's house, was she by herself? Find out if she's by herself!" She told me of a holiday gathering at the community center this Friday evening. Everyone brings a dish to share, and if you want a drink, bring your beverage. Her face seemed to drop when I mentioned that I work full time (was it during the day?), as I think she is looking for someone to spend time with (since her husband passed away two years ago). All the lonely people - where do they all belong?

After my walk, I decided I needed to do something with the front yard landscaping (geeze - all the Joneses have great yards!) so I went and took a picture of the front of the house.

There's Gracie, standing in the driveway. Those white flags are the "fence" - it gives Gracie a visual of her boundaries, and will be coming down this week. Here's from another angle:

The backyard is full of all the potted plants I moved here from the beach; you can see the areca palm in the terra cotta pot. I am considering putting that in the ground just about where it is. The soil is rock and clay, quite a surprise to me from the sandy beach I'm used to. So every day off I toss up whether to do stuff inside or outside. There's just so much.....
but I love it!

Anticipation

2009-10-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

I have almost made it through the month of October without any major calamities. The closing on the house is set for "Nov 4th or sooner". I'm hoping for sooner. It's been 35 days since I signed the contract, and it's been 35 days of anticipation. Most everything is boxed up - the kitchen cabinets and my clothes in the bedroom are about all that's left. Today the flapper broke on the toilet here, and it just goes to figure! So I went to Ace Hardware and bought a new one, as well as a new globe for the light over the sink which broke last year and I never replaced it. I'm a little nervous about being a homeowner and having to repair and replace such things. A four dollar flapper is no big deal, but I'm going to have major appliances, A/C and roof and screens, etc. to care for. I stopped by my new house two days ago to bring in the trash cans, and so I popped my head inside the atrium. It had just rained so it was good to see how wet it gets and where. I noticed a small tree frog in the atrium, and pondered how he could have gotten inside. I thought perhaps he was born there. Then I looked up and noticed a rip in one of the screens in the skylights. Darn. That'll need to be fixed pronto, as I plan on opening the doors and windows to the fresh air outside. I'm getting a little nervous about monthly expenses. My monthly mortgage payments will actually be less than my rent, here, but I have taxes and insurance to figure in, and a homeowners' association fee. I'll also have a larger area to cool, so my electric bill will be higher. I'll have to start driving my car to and from work - as opposed to my bicycle - so there's gas expenses. I won't be coming home for lunch as frequently - especially once season starts - so I'll need to plan ahead and pack a lunch, or suffer the cost of eating out. And once I have my great new home, I'll have guests over far more frequently, and entertaining is an added expense. Not to mention the invisible fencing for Gracie, the removal of the rooms-full of hideous wallpaper, replacing the old carpeting, all the cosmetic stuff to make it homey. I hope Sarah and Lauren aren't expecting big Christmas presents this year!! Days like today are making me crazy: I don't have to go in to the office, but feel as though I shouldn't be "recreating" when I have to move - soon. It's almost as if I'm going through the motions...
The anticipation is killing me!

closer to the move

2009-10-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

I turned the A/C off yesterday - first time since spring. I opened up the windows before going to bed. When I opened my eyes at 7:00 this morning, it was sixty degrees in the house! Our first cold front of the season. Since I have been out of touch with the local news, etc., I have no idea if this will be a brief front, or if we're in for the cooler weather for awhile. It's nice when it's cool around Halloween; it makes dressing up in costumes and carving pumpkins all the more enjoyable.
Gracie is in heat. She turned a year in mid August, so I've been anticipating this. I took her to a dog park last weekend and she was certainly of interest to many of the male canines there. It will be good for her to go through the majority of this cycle before moving to our new home. Everything happens for a [good] reason, so the postponment of the closing on the house has been fortuitous for Gracie.
Packing is reasonably well underway. Everything that I don't absolutely need has been boxed, labeled and stacked up in the front room. All photos/ artwork are off the walls, save two large mirrors that are hanging in the living room. They're quite heavy and are just as easily kept where they are until time to move them. I won't be taking my everyday dishes with me - I have more than enough sets of dishes - Sarah has expressed an interest in having the everyday stuff, so that makes it easy. I'll have to sort through the miscellaneous plastic storage containers, and some pots and pans that are missing handles or such - no need to move the junk. It has all served my purpose quite well for the past four years, but now it's time for a whole new chapter in my life.
It is a whole new chapter in my life. This will be the first time in 27 years that I will not be living on the beach. Some folks ask me how do I think I will adjust. I love Fort Myers Beach but the past year or so it has become increasingly difficult to live where I work. Politics in a small town. I am looking forward to making new friends in the wonderful new neighborhood to which I am moving. I am looking forward to having my own home - to being able to give Gracie a yard, to putting my plants in the dirt, establishing a new garden. I'll have a dishwasher - HURRAY! I will have ample dining areas to once again entertain my friends, and have dinner parties. I will have a garage! (I have never had a garage! how novel!!) and my garage will have an automatic door opener that I will keep in my car. Darn - if I'm not moving up in the world! (lol!) ...and the master suite ....ahhhh.... the atrium.....it's a dream come true. I dream of how I'll decorate - color schemes, applying feng shui. This house was made for me - according to feng shui, I am a 'west' person, so the front door of my home should face west. It does. The decor in this house has a tremendous asian influence. I don't know if the former occupants were of asian decent or if it was just their taste, but much of the house conforms with the feng shui philosophy. And it all seems just made for me.
I have arranged for the transfer of utilities. I have a plan for moving, but until I have a firm closing date, I can't put that plan in motion. ONe element that I have not confirmed is what to do about TV-PHONE-INTERNET. Presently, I have Embarq for phone and DSL for internet. I have comcast cable for TV, but someone besides me is paying for it (it was in place when I moved in). I haven't figured out what I want to do. I also need to buy a new computer, as I am down to using my work laptop (shhh...don't tell). so I thought it'd be best to incorporate a new IT system in my new home complete with a new computer and new provider. Problem is, I'm not up on the latest technologies, and am at a loss as to where to begin. Techno-geeks out there, I welcome your input.
It is all so very exciting. I can't get out of this place quickly enough. Maybe because I know I have a fresh new place to live, I notice the run down-ness of my surroundings. This move really feels right. There was a time I considered moving out of the county, even out of the state. That could be a possibility in the future, but for now, this move is right. It's meant to be.

Stress has got the drop on me....

2009-10-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Lake Buena Vista after 3 days of 'clerk school'. I rode with Dianne from Bonita. What a delightfully charming lady. I truly enjoy her company. This was the first time I've attended 'the academy' for the 3 days. Until now, my attendance was for a full week, but now I'm running with the big kids. ;) My name badge now has a sticker that says ADVANCED as opposed to FIRST YEAR or SECOND YEAR or THIRD YEAR . Woohooo!
I was anxious to get home, though, as the house buying thing is ever on my mind. Let me say right now, that if you are in the market to purchase a home, do not - i repeat DO NOT - use Wells Fargo. I assume that they are not interested in making conventional loans: They will do government loans, i.e., FHA OR VA, because they are secured. Maybe Wells Fargo is in such deep doo-doo with the housing market that this is the only way they can hope to survive. They wasted over three weeks of my time going through the motions of writing a loan. I pushed for some numbers and gave them a deadline. Two weeks before closing, I called and asked for some final numbers. "Don't worry, you're approved - it's just a matter of how much you need to bring to the table. " Then there was chatter about my income to debt ratio: I have co-signed for loans for both of my daughters: auto loan and education loans. I explained things, sent documents, made phone calls. This was Tuesday, two weeks before closing. I informed them that I would be out of town the better part of the next week (clerk school) and that I needed some numbers by Friday. They assured me that there was no problem, and that they would have the final numbers for me by Friday.

Friday noon I got an e-mail from the Wells Fargo mortgage consultant and the subject was requesting I call him when I got the e-mail. I called him and he said that I needed to bring $98,000. to the table. Yes, you read correctly: NINETY-EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS.

I chose to apply for my mortgage loan with Wells Fargo because they are the recent parent company of Wachovia, which is the bank that has had my business for sometime. The local branch is a very good group of people with whom I have a great history and rapore. When I told them of my experience, they were genuinely mortified. They are retrieving some of my expense for the appraisal and application fee.

I'm now with a mortgage broker, a woman I have known for nearly ten years and whose office is here on the island. The closing is set for Nov 4 or before, the appraisal is set for Monday morning, the underwriters have given their conditions which can easily be met. The survey is done, there's clear title. An interesting piece in this is that the CD I have with Wachovia is sent to mature on 10/24/09, so I am not subject to the penalty that would have resulted with the 10/20/09 closing date. It's all GOOD! We're good to go!

It's been a fast and furious fall

2009-10-10T10:57:00.001-07:00

I was doing quite well, there, for awhile, chronicling my excellent Alaskan vacation. Then one friday afternoon, I took a drive through a neighborhood that was of interest to me for shopping to buy a home. I saw a few homes with for sale signs and I jotted down the addresses and the realtors' names and numbers. Saturday morning I called one of the realtors, and she was very un-friendly to me, almost rude. She told me the asking price, and I said, "That's high ..." and she didn't say anything. So I said, "That's high for this neighborhood." and the realtor told me about another house in another neighborhood that was a short sale. I clearly sensed this realtor didn't want my business. She said the house I'd called on was vacant, so why didn't I go look around, and if I wanted to see inside to call her back. I hung up and called Deborah, a friend and realtor who has been successful even in this market. "Would you be willing to help me with this?" I met her in her office and she called the realtor and we drove up to the house and looked inside. It was a dream home. On a lake, landscaped with beautiful gardens, even a doggie door from the garage to a fenced area. Nicely tiled throughout, great porches and updated kitchen and baths. The asking price was $220,000. Appraisals for this neighborhood were coming in around $165,000-$185,000. We wrote up and offer of $170,000., I got a pre-approval letter from the bank and we submitted the offer. The seller never even countered - just flat out refused the offer. We were dumbfounded. But Deborah was determined to get me a house, and signed me up with Listingbook.com. I looked at hundreds of houses online, and dozens on foot. I looked at short sales, forclosures, and good old fashioned homes for sale. Some had pools, some had yards, some needed alot of work. The short sales were sad: clearly folks just walked away - leaving belongings, even dirty dishes and food. I looked at what I would call McMansions - brand new homes - never lived in - tiled throughout, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, simply gorgeous. But they were built right to the set-backs, and in new - or newer - developments. I wanted mature vegetation, and a yard.
Then I noticed on listingbook a house in a neighborhood called Heritage Farms, which had mature vegetation and nice sprawling homes in a quiet area. I placed it in my favorites, and drove by to see it. We had been having a lot of rain, and this neighborhood backs up to the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, so it was a good time to see how wet it gets back in there. The lot was half an acre with mature live oak trees. I didn't get out of the car, just drove by and checked out the neighborhood. It needed some work, it appeared, but otherwise it was very charming. Deborah called me the next day: "I see in your favorites a house in Heritage Farms - do you want to go look at it?" We drove up after work. Deborah learned that the house had been empty for two years. The occupant was an elderly woman who suffered from alzheimers. She had a dog, that messed throughout, and the master bath needed work. It was 4 bed/ 3 bath. We walked in the front door, and it was a goofy layout - it had two living rooms and two dining rooms, with a kitchen smack in the middle. There was obvious signs of a leaking roof, and the master bath didn't need work, it needed to be completely redone. A friend of mine who makes his living as a building inspector offered to give me a free look, so I took him up on the offer. He pointed out signs of copper piping that were damaged, signs that the floors had water damage, obvious roof damage, and so on. There was a large oak near the rear corner that was uprooting the foundation, and low hanging limbs that were beating the roof. Money Pit. The seller should raze the building. It was disappointing.
I returned home and adjusted the search criteria in listing book. As I browsed through dozens of homes, I told myself that I'd just wait - obviously the time wasn't right.
The next morning, Deborah called me and asked if I'd considered McGregor Woods. "No," I said, "I don't want to live in a gated community with Homeowners Associations that tell you how to live your life" "McGregor Woods is different" she said. "I'll send you the listing." That was Friday morning and I was busy at work and didn't give it another thought. At 4:30, Deborah called. She was going to go look at the house in McGregor Woods, did I want to meet her there? I reluctantly said yes - reluctant because I'd become discouraged. She and her husband were already there when Gracie and I pulled up. The house was darling. The neighborhood is beautiful, lovely landscaping, peaceful and well maintained. The house was perfect. The back yard backed up to a drainage swale and a wooded area, the side yard was adjacent to a large common area of lawns. 3 bed/ 2 bath, very well maintained. Sunken living room with cathedral ceilings, formal dining room as well as breakfast nook, screened porch and patio outside. But the best part was the master bedroom suite. Large room, walk in closet, master bath with large walk-in shower beautifully tiled. Both the bedroom and the bath had sliding glass doors that opened into an atrium!!! This is truly a dream home. "Do you love it?" Deborah asked. "Yes!" "Do you love it enough to make an offer?" YES! The asking price was $220,000. We went back to her office and wrote up an offer of $180,000. The next morning came a counteroffer of $195,000. which we accepted. That was September 19th, and closing is set for October 20.
I have been busy packing. It couldn't come at a better time, because of difficulties here where I'm renting. I can't get out soon enough. I'm going to love my new home!
so I probably won't finish my alaskan vacation chronicle - we are now in home ownership mode!

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation Day 10

2009-09-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

August 6, 2009

The ship came in to port in Juneau. Far more a bustling port than Haines. I was early, so I strolled along the pier until I saw the sign for the Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake. I boarded the motorcoach with the twelve other passengers & listened to a young, precocious driver as she pointed out various sights. She mostly talked about herself, which didn’t interest me, but one comment she made was note worthy. She was talking about the ratio of men to women, I think she said Juneau was 8:1, other Alaskan cities can be as much as 14:1. “The odds are good, but the goods are odd.”

We spent an hour at Mendenhall Glacier. After touring Denali, then Glacier Bay, Mendenhall was “just another glacier”. The fact that it exists smack in the heart of the city, however, is the draw.

We got back on the bus and traveled a short distance to an outside barbecue and the salmon bake. I bought an Alaskan amber and got a cup of chowder. I joined a couple at one table aaa7 ate the soup which was totally delicious. The couple was from North California, retired from a CA state university. I was on appetizer (soup) and they were on the main course. This served to my advantage, as they were commenting on the sauce that was over the salmon – so when I got my plate, I asked for the sauce on the side. Good thing, as it would have ruined the fish = it tasted like liquid brown sugar – heavy, gritty & way too sweet. Everything else was quite delicious – rice, beans, cornbread – they also offered chicken & pasta and various salads - bean, cole slaw, romaine – but I can eat greens anytime!

My dinner mates sampled the desert which looked like a type of blueberry buckle – they said it was the best blueberry cake they’d ever had. Blueberries are in season. This was quite a clever set up with covered tables and chairs, enough for nearly 200 diners. A woman played acoustic guitar & sang folksie tunes. There was a gift shop, restrooms, & a trail that led along a stream to a beautiful waterfall and an old gold mine.

(can you notice my beautiful salmon pendant!?)

Big yellow school buses stood ready to take folks back to town. I got off at the pier & chose to visit the various shops. Much of the wares are the same at all the shops - same ole stuff. I did happen on one shop with unique jewelry. I bought a pendant for Sarah – a mammoth ivory carved wolf head in a sterling silver setting. I hope she likes it. I bought a pair of sterling & ivory earrings that I thought maybe I’d give to one of my daughters, but when I got back to the ship, I liked them so much, I decided to keep them.

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation Day 9

2009-09-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

August 5, 2009

Today was our first port of call, Haines, AK. The captain announced dockage & the gangplank deck for disembarkation. I had selected the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Float Adventure, & were to meet ashore pierside at 8:50 AM. Haines was small, quaint, quiet. The tide was extremely low, & I heard a local guide mention it was 25 feet. Tour guides stood about, holding signs identifying the different excursions. I signed up the waiver, & joined others on the bus.

“Tom” was our guide, although he never did tell us anything about himself. He was lively & gregarious & pointed out local points of interest. Across the aisle from me sat a young woman who wore a HAL name badge with photo: she identified herself as a travel guide. “Tom” chatted it up with her, & IMO, it became an unspoken contest between them of who knew more about local history.
As we approached the “put in point” inside the preserve, Tom explained to us what to expect. We’d split up into groups in 5 or 6 different rafts, we’d be given rubber boots & life jackets, & leave behind anything we don’t need. I offered to fill in wherever they may need one person, & Tom directed me to the raft being paddled by Brodie. Also in this raft was a 4-some form Colorado Springs, Paul & Joyce and daughters Judy & Makella. Kimberly, travel guide, was also in our group & she, Paul & I took the front of the raft.

It turns out Paul was (is?) a professor chemistry at some state university in CO, as well as an experienced mountain search & rescuer. I was certainly in good company.
The Chilkat River was quite turbid – a deep blue grey silt in motion. There were frequent sections that were quite shallow, & the bottom of the raft scraped as we crossed gravel bars. Brodie pointed out infrequent sightings of immature eagles, & frequent sightings of large, jet-black ravens.

Travel guide Kimberly continued her chat-contest, this time with raft-guide Brodie. Brodie was compassionate & tolerant; I grazed the random information, sifting through the ego. Chemist Paul had a good bit to add about the composition of the waters & the mineral deposits & their interaction.

The float trip was calm – no misrepresentation about the skill level for this. I did expect more Eagle activity. We passed a mature eagle perched on a point along the delta – the familiar white head is present on the mature birds, but the distinction between male & female is not obvious on mere observation. I did manage to get a great shot of a mature eagle perched adjacent to its nest. Brodie said these nests can weigh as much as a ton & achieve a depth of 8 feet. I don’t doubt these statistics, but they do seem extreme. I probably will research their veracity.

We reached the take out point & were met with the tub of shoes we’d exchanged for the rubber boots.
Tour guides set up tables & benches, & coolers of ice water, lemonade, coffee, tea & hot chocolate. They opened up trays of sandwiches & bags of sun chips. The sandwiches appeared to be turkey & cheese with lettuce on various choices of breads. There was also a large tray of chocolate chip cookies.

We applauded our river guides – some were tipped, we returned to the bus & headed back to the ship. While on the bus, Tom promoted his books & sold T-shirts of the Preserve. I bought one at $20 – believing that a portion of the proceeds would go to the preserve.
Back at the pier, other ship’s passengers were waiting for their next scheduled excursion. I wonder how it’s decided how long the ship moors in each port. Haines seems to be our longest stay. I had only booked the one excursion, & so chose to venture up the hill to some of the shops.
Walking up the hill, I saw tour guide Tom. I sought – and received – his recommendation about a local shop selling smoked salmon. They had free samples of smoked salmon, halibut, various relishes & mustards. I purchased a couple of packs of halibut, one salmon, a few packs of chews for Ruca and Gracie, a whale bottle opener (novel!) and a salmon cookbook. They’ll ship.
Across the street was a gift shop with a lush floral garden at the entrance. The garden was what attracted me. The wares were rich – exclusive. The shop was small; the shopkeeper was sharp. “Where’r’ya’ from?” he asked, as did most. When I responded, “Southwest Florida” as I usually did, I was dumb-founded to hear his reply – “Fort Myers Beach?” No one said, fort myers BEACH. He had beautiful jewelry. I slowly, carefully inspected each piece, and he casually assisted my viewing pleasure by bringing various cases from the displays to the counter tops. I was mostly looking for gifts for Sarah & Lauren, but I saw a piece that was “PERFECT” ! for me!! It was a “have to have” It was a pin that would double as a pendant – sterling silver with ivory inlay. It was about 2” long – it was – a salmon. It was beautiful. I had to have it.
I stopped in another shop along the way, that advertised “local art.” The work was unique, & quite beautiful. I looked it all over – at least twice. I was about to leave & offered my thanks to the shopkeeper. She commented that I’d certainly given it quite the look over but hadn’t found anything. I told her I was looking for a gift for my daughter, that last year I visited Mt. Rainier in WA & brought back some dream-catcher earrings. She’d since lost them, and I was looking for a replacement, but it seems that noone makes dream-catcher earrings anymore, as the intricate details are too much for most bead-artists’ hands. Did I see the lavender pair in the front showcase, she asked. No, I hadn’t, so looked again, and WOW! They were absolutely beautiful! Lauren will love them!

I returned to the ship. It was “unseasonably warm” I dropped my backpack, my binoculars, camera, raincoat & hat, changed my boots to sandals and my long-sleeved shirt to a sleeveless Tee. I went up to the Lido Deck where others were sunbathing. The ship’s party planner / entertainment director “Bekka” was in the elevator when I entered. She called me the Paula Deen look-a-like. I’ll have to google “Paula Deen” to see if she was complimenting me – or not - .
At about the time we were set to sail, I went up on the fore deck to see how they undid the ships’ lines. I ran in to Dick – the male half of the couple I’d met in the lounge of the Hilton in Anchorage. He was doing the same thing – checking out how the ships’ lines were drawn. We chatted about cruising – this was his first experience on a major cruise line as well.

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation Day 8

2009-09-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

August 4, 2009

Glacier Bay National Park was impressive. Probably the benefit of a smaller ship like the Veendam is its ability to get “up close and personal” in small passages like those of Glacier Bay.
A ranger from Glacier Bay NP gave a presentation in the showroom, which highlighted the park’s wildlife & ecosystem.
The ranger’s presentation was followed by a presentation from a woman identified only as “Alice.” As she spoke, it became apparent that she is native Tlinglit. She taught us how to say “hello’ in native tongue, which is something like:
“Wasa I ya té”
She referred to the people as “Hunnah” which reminded me of the Hawaiian “Huna” culture. I remembered a conversation with a man from Fairbanks in which he said that Hawaii is the vacation destination of choice for many Alaskans, as it is only about 600 miles away. Perhaps Hawaiians and Alaskans are descendants of Mü [Lemuria] – the Pacific Ocean’s lost continent.

Alice explained that water is the way of life for these people, that there are two houses: Eagle or Raven. The two intermarry (Eagles marry Ravens, Ravens marry Eagles), that the people follow their mother’s heritage. Totem poles serve to identify the people and to function as a sort of history book. The harbor seal is their main staple – making full use of all the parts – the pelts, intestines and sinew. They respect the need to preserve the natural resources, and gave the example: If there are 3 bird eggs, take 2 and leave 1; If there are 2, take only 1. Alice ended her talk by singing a song her mother taught her – it was beautifully delivered in a tone that resembled what I have understood to be native American – Alaskan, Hawaiian.

The ship stalled some time in front of Marjorie Glacier. Photo ops abounded. We witnessed the glacier calving – the initial ‘crack’ sounding like a shotgun firing.
As we turned around and headed back out of the channel/ canal, I made my way down to Explorations Café. I decided to set up a ship account and pay the 75ȼ per minute for internet. I didn’t intent any extensive searching, only check my AOL mail. As it turned out, connections were painfully slow and I was probably online close to an hour, I did manage to jot a quick e-mail to family and to the blog.
At one point I noticed the time on the computer tool-bar said 11:165 am. My plan was to have lunch in the Rotterdam dining room, and lunch was served only 12 noon to 1:00 pm. I finished my e-mail and logged off, (which took about $5.00 in itself) and headed to deck 7 for the dining room. In the stairwell I noticed the clock read 1:00 pm and realized the online clock was wrong – had to be – as the tlinglet presentations was at 11:00. I got to the dining room and was told they were no longer serving.

I enjoyed an aimless stroll around the promenade deck and then returned to my cabin. I saw an envelope being slid under the stateroom door. It was from the guest relations manager – a polite note of acknowledgement for my letter sent the night before. Within minutes, my phone rang and it was she. Did I get her note, yes, she was sorry I had the experience, etc. We chatted briefly and politely. I understood” and thanked her for taking the time to follow up.

I dressed and went to dinner which was delicious. I picked up a tip from observing veteran diners/cruisers: I don’t have to order ‘one appetizer’ ‘one soup or salad” etc. The appetizers were more appealing – shrimp, scallops, crabmeat and son on. I ordered two appetizers & skipped the salad. I’m usually not a desert eater, but decided to try some of the chef’s special treats..
After dinner I enjoyed the comic Jeff Nease in the Showroom He was very, very good. A chocolate martini at the Martini Bar made a great night cap.

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation Day 7

2009-09-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

August 3, 2009

We toured College Fjord starting at 6:00 AM. On less than 5 hours’ sleep, I jumped into some clothes, grabbed camera & binoculars & headed up on deck. It was FREEZING! But the weather was surprisingly clear and the views were STUNNING.

After a couple of hours the mist or fire smoke rolled in and views became null.

It was about 10 AM – I crawled back in bed & set the alarm for a 3 hour snooze.
After 2 hours of laying awake, I got up. I took a leisure shower, watched a movie while I dried my hair, and fiddled with my stuff.; Dinner was “Formal” so I took my time getting dressed. My plan was “open seating” as opposed to “fixed seating” and the front office told me reservations were not necessary. However, when I got to the dining room at 6:00 PM, I was given a pager and told it would be a 45 minute wait.
I sat on a divan behind the hosts’ station and watched all the cruisers in their finery. Some folks were in little more than ‘smart casual,’ while others were truly in their finest. I love the look of the gentlemen in their black tie formal wear. I hope some day before I die I will have a date with a man in a tuxedo.
As I sat there, I saw Kellanne and Dick – Kellanne asked me something that I didn’t quite understand until I played it back in my mind. It was a compliment, but in the fashion of “did you get sprayed with a fire hose, or what? You look great.” … I saw Donald, the acquaintance from the train, as well as Janet and William from GA. Next to me on the divan was a family of 4 that switched off between them for the seat.
The restaurant was sorely ill-equipped for the open seating patrons. The host was yelled at, threatened & the diners grew indignant. I sat - & waited - & waited. (I was wearing a great blue and green dress with a halter-style top, so I sat erect, like a board was in my back.) Over two hours passed. Every single patron – reservations & not – had been seated.
I’m not sure how, but finally the host saw me, although I had been in the same seat less than 10 feet from his podium. “I tried to call you!” he said, referring to the beeper. “Just find me somewhere to get something to eat” I told him, hungry and irritable, and surprised at how close I felt to tears.
I had shrimp cocktail and Alaskan King Crab legs, cappucino and baked Alaska for desert. Quite frankly, I don’t even know if it was any good.
When I returned to my cabin, there was some literature about tomorrow’s activities, including a map of Glacier Bay National Park, a letter from the guest relations manager about the gastro-intestinal illness some had reported, and the ship’s measures to combat it. There was also a note from the guest relations manager as “how are we doing?” Y’ gotta know, I put pen to paper and let her have it. I placed it in an envelope with her name on it and and delivered it to the front desk.
I watched some stupid TV for a bit until I put out the lights and went to sleep.

Michelle's Excellent Vacation Day 6

2009-09-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

Eight hours’ sleep felt good. I dressed & re-arranged my luggage in preparation for the train to Seward & the cruise ship. I had a couple of hours before the courtesy van to the rail. I walked over to the Ulu Factory, shopped & bought a few souveneirs – including an Ulu. The sun was warm, the skies clear & I strolled over to Ship Creek to watch the folks fishing.

The courtesy van pulled up & the driver didn’t agree that I could take the train to Seward – seems he heard all the recent rains caused a landslide that blocked the tracks. “Well let’s just get to the depot and we’ll see” I said with a pseudo-air of confidence.
The depot doors were open, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. I wheeled my suitcase across the concourse following the arrows upstairs that said, “TO TRAINS” At the far end of the room, at one of a dozen tables, sat two women with piles of papers spread about. “Can I help you?” she called out. “Well, I hope so – “ I said, & gave my story from the courtesy van driver’s point of view. The tracks had been cleared, the rail would run. I was in the right place.
Gradually, other folks began filtering in. I struck up a conversation with a couple who had just returned from a remote fishing camp in western AK. Dennis grew up in that area and brought his wife, Sandra to see it. We boarded the train & instead of customary lounger-style chairs, this train had booths with tables. My assigned seat was across from a couple from GA – Janet & William. Just as I was thinking I’d have some room to move about, our car filled up and an elderly gentleman sat next to me. His name was Donald.

The train served food, but nothing appealed to me… I opted for Alaskan amber beer. We traveled through some pretty country – especially Turnagain Arm – which got its name when Cook went looking for the NW passage & became frustrated at having to turn around, or, “turn again” They tell of tides coming in so quickly & silt beds being like quick sand … dangerous stuff.

TURNAGAIN ARM

BEAR CREEK

Eventually we pulled in to port, boarded the ship & located my stateroom - #500 – forward port. The captain announced a mandatory life jacket/ life boat drill – of course I participated, although that stuff bores me & I find it silly. Embarkation was without fanfare, contrary to what I had heard about throwing out the lines, etc

Not knowing any better, I found the Lido Restaurant just mere minutes before closing. Since I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours, I had a plate of less-than-exciting pasta. I found the self-serve laundry, got change at the front office & laundered my clothes form Denali. I finally unwound, and turned in well past midnight.

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation Day 5

2009-09-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

August 1, 2009

This morning’s wake up call was in the form of a quick knock on the door at 5:15 AM. We were asked to respond & have our baggage outside the cabin door by 5:00 AM. I was so cold that I shivered & huddled as I stumbled into my clothes.
I was in the breakfast hall by 5:45 AM & had scrambled eggs & a piece of wheat toast. I barely had three bites when the announcement came to load the bus for the return trip out.
Mark was our driver & he was very good. Wiley had chatted with him & learned he was a math teacher & drama coach when he wasn’t doing Denali Backcountry tours. Because it was very early in the morning, we saw lots of caribou – herds of caribou. Since most of us had other connections to make, we didn’t stop for photo ops.

We made it back to Denali Rail Depot in 5 hours compared to the 7 ½ hours it took on the way in. We exchanged contact information with invitations to visit, etc. Pam & Wiley in WA & Tucson, Sue & Joe in CT. They were not taking the train – they had private cars – so we said goodbye at the depot. Bill kept to himself & didn’t exchange contact info, & quietly slipped away at the depot. I enjoyed a strong embrace with Sue & Joe – Great, Great folks that I would like very much to see again.
Marian & Al were taking the train to Anchorage, as was Glad-Anne. We sort of worked off of each other trying to figure out what the system was. We checked in & were pleased to know that we were in the same rail car with seats very near each other. We boarded the Holland America Gold Star & were found it to be a top-of-the-line, first class dome car. Marian & Al were two seats in front of me, & Glad-Anne was one seat behind. This was a first class ride.

Shortly after we were underway, I had a shot of Dewars (neat) which put me into a light yet enjoyable nap. The four of us dined together in the dining car – Marian & Al having prime rib, Glad & I ordering salmon.
I was feeling grumpy – even before dinner – probably due to sleep deprivation, which was exacerbated by the too-cold A/C, the geriatric tour guide who was barely audible at best & especially two, 2-4 year old toe-headed girls who couldn’t stop their high-pitched, incessant vocals for one minute.
Glad-Anne was one of those personalities that seemed to create for herself a very negative existence – everything was a “situation” – a hurdle, an issue. I practiced patience & offered suggestions of how she could cast a brighter picture. She didn’t know how she’d do on the train, she gets motion sickness, etc. She needed to use the bathroom but can’t walk when the train is moving; she would surely spill her glass of wine; and so on. She attempted conversation but backed off when my responses didn’t include inquiries that continued to engage.
We pulled into the depot in Anchorage. Apparently, the depot is under construction – I’m not sure what the situation was, as we weren’t at the actual depot, but just before it. All the cruise line motorcoaches were lined up; the rail porters unloaded the luggage & it looked like a swarm as passengers scurried to claim their bags.
The bags were being unloaded in two locations about 40 feet apart – hneither location showed signs of my luggage. This was one time I was glad to have silver luggage instead of the ever-so-common black. Marian & Al were just as aggressive as I in trying to locate our bags. As the train hatches were closed, we questioned several porters only to be told our luggage was going to our hotel. “No! It’s not!” Marian retorted. “We are not with the cruise! We are independent!” Oh, in that case, we were told – your bags are at the big white building about 50 yards up. Marian & I nearly galloped to the “big white building” wanting to claim our bags before trains & buses pulled away. Al, a 6’4” probably 250 lb man in his 60’s lumbered behind. The “big white building” was the actual rail depot, & sure enough – there was our luggage.
My hotel was in sight, even from the train, & it was an easy walk across the street & down a block. I checked in to the Comfort Inn & discarded the boots and socks and long sleeved shirt I’d worn all day. I washed & brushed and checked a local map for nearby points of interest. It was already 9:30 at night, although the sun was just as bright as ever.
At the front desk I signed up for the shuttle to the airport where I would (once again!) hop a train that will take me to the pier in Seward. I then asked the desk clerk if there was somewhere I could walk to & get a cocktail. She pulled out an Anchorage activities map & circled the Comfort Inn and drew a line down a street circling a local brewery. “They have their own microbrewery” she said. I was told to be sure to sample Alaskan beer, as its said to be outstanding. I’m not a big beer drinker, & after my 7 hour train ride of constant irritants, I wanted a martini.
I walked out of the Inn, past the Ulu Factory & window shopped, making a note of the store’s hours to be sure to visit tomorrow. I strolled along the river & watched local fishermen. I assumed their catch was salmon. I headed in the direction of the microbrewery the desk clerk recommended, but spotted the familiar logo of the Hilton Hotel.
I entered the lobby, strolled into the lounge and took a seat at the bar. A couple sitting next to me was talking about their day up in Barrow. I was interested in what the ‘far north” was like, and they were a lively couple – her name was Kellanne, his was Dick, and we chatted about Barrow, Alaska in general and martinis.
I walked back to the Comfort Inn in the Alaska midnight twilight.

The Choices we make

2009-09-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

I am enjoying compiling my journal notes and photos from my excellent alaskan vacation; I hope you are enjoying it as well.
I wanted to take a few moments in the now. Over the course of the past month, I have a new boss with a completely different management style - so far it's been positive for me. Gracie turned a year old and is not so much of a baby anymore. The days of "accidents" are over. My younger daughter has returned to Tampa for fall semester, and it's nice to have my house back. I ran into a former co-worker today and I think he was surprised at my response when he asked how things were going for me. I sort of surprised myself, because I very honestly and without hesitation said that things were very good. Things are very good.
There are times when we know things in our head, but not in our heart. We can know them in our heart but not know it to be. Such it was with me about the choices we make. Life is all about the choices we make. It is a plain and simple exercise of our free will. Somehow it took the exercise of my free will, my choice to take the vacation I'd always dreamed of, to not only know it in my head and in my heart, but to know it to be. I was watching "Dr. G Medical Examiner" and an autopsy showed a man died from an infection in his jaw that went untreated. In the end she said, "It's all about the choices we make. If you choose now not to go to a doctor for a sore throat, then I'll see you later" (or something equally profound).
I happened on the below excerpt in a book I'm reading, "Children of the Law of One"

Every moment we come upon another

Fork in the Road

Every moment we choose

Our Way Our Destiny

Every Action creates Reactions

Choosing not to act, is an action with a reaction

No Choice Have You

But to Choose

Choose you WILL

Where you are

Where you have been

Where You will be

Is affected by Your Choice

Our Consciousness is the result

of our own Choosing

Where you are is

Where you have come

Where you WILL go

Is decided by how you are

With Free WILL we choose our Destiny

We were destined to Choose

The destiny we have Freely Chosen

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation Day 4

2009-08-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

July 31, 2009

I leave Denali Backcountry Lodge tomorrow AM. It’s been a tremendous experience. After lunch yesterday, I put a fire in the gazebo & sat reading & writing. Joe & Susan sat out in the sun along the creek. Bill returned form the Fannie Quigley hike & joined me in the gazebo. We talked quite awhile – or should I say HE talked. When the time came to move on, he said, “ I hope I didn’t talk your ear off..” I still have both.
Since I had a sedentary afternoon, I wasn’t real hungry come dinnertime, but I went to the dining room anyway. I had a glass of wine and hors d’ouvres upstairs and chatted with Pam & Wiley from WA. When dinnertime came I sat with the couple I’d met at the train station who are recently retired, form Ann Arbor MI – never did get their names. Dinner was shrimp & scallops, but I wasn’t very hungry – ate politely, & excused myself before dessert.
I took a walk out to the end of the road (literally) & back around Fannie Quigley’s. It was a path I knew and I’d forgotten to sign out at the desk as they ask us to do when venturing out without a camp guide. I wanted to go back out into/onto the tundra. I thrill at the wide open expanse, the spongy floor the abundant berries, & especially the intoxicating fragrance of labrador tea.
I strolled back toward camp, but detoured up a path toward the ridge where remnants of Fannie’s garden remained. It was a steep incline, the path was rugged, & I found my heart rate racing. I stood on a bluff & could see for miles. I breathed in deeply the fresh, clear air and listened to nothingness. “I’m on the top of the world, looking down on creation” I thought to myself.

I returned to camp and went to the building they call the cultural center. There I popped in a video about Denali: the taiga, the tundra & the arctic. As the video ended, other guest filed into the room for a scheduled video presentation. I put my boots back on, straightened up my chair and quietly departed. I went to the library and borrowed a couple of books on wildflowers & one on berries of Alaska, returned to my cabin & read until I could no longer keep my eyes open.
This morning, - Friday – started with a 9:00 AM guided hike along an old mining road, along Moose Creek & into the valley where intricate beaver dams & lodges had been erected. Shannon was our guide, a tiny, soft-spoken twenty-something girl from Homer, AK. The group was Pam & Wiley, Joe & Susan, Bill, myself and a newcomer, Martine, from Paris, France. We hiked an elevation of about 2,000 feet & probably three miles

We found a pair of cast-off moose antlers & had fun with them before returning back to camp, just in time for lunch. The skies began to cloud over, the air cooled, the humidity rose and the threat of rain was imminent.

A gold panning demonstration was beginning & I watched as guests tried their hand. I walked back to the main lodge, got a fresh cup of coffee, went upstairs and picked up a book on the history of the Alaskan RR. I eased into a rocker on the upstairs porch & was quickly engaged in conversation with a man & woman who were “day visitors’ - had come in on a bus from the park entrance, they were from Vero Beach, FL. I had only begun reading about the start of the railroad & how the government restricted private ownership of the coal being mined, forcing bankruptcy with only 70 miles completed. Joe came out on the porch & joined me & it was pretty good timing as he is a bankruptcy attorney & he answered some of my questions that rose about government intervention in private enterprise. We talked awhile until it began to drizzle – I mentioned that I thought I would stir up a fire in the gazebo if he & Susan were up to joining me. I returned to my cabin to grab this journal intending to write by the fire, as well as get my thermos to fill with hot apple cider. When I got to the gazebo, Joe was already building the fire, Susan came along shortly and we talked about two books they had that their older son had authored. The books were on Shin Buddhism.
Another couple joined us- Al & Marian – recently retired educators from CA. We conversed, stoked the fire, read a bit until it was “happy hour”. We bought beer & wine & enjoyed it in the gazebo next to the alder wood fire, as the rain fell steadily.

MOOSE CREEK

Wiley, Pam, Moi, Bill, Joe & Sue

After dinner, we returned to the gazebo, & built a very substantial fire. Bill, Joe & I chipped in on a bottle of Reisling. We took an old tinder bucket to use to chill the wine. It had a hole in the bottom apparently from an ember. Joe chewed a piece of gum and plugged the hole, then we dipped it into the creek & 40-50 degree water served to chill the wine perfectly. Al & Marian joined us, Bill talked & talked, thrilled to have a fresh audience. Wake up call is 5 AM, so, at 10:30 PM we wrapped it up. Tomorrow is the long ride back out.

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation Day 3

2009-08-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

July 30, 2009

My bed was very clean and comfortable (I was also very, very tired!) The air was cool – almost too cool,- as at one point I shut the window above the bed. I enjoyed the sound of Moose Creek tripping over the rocks & stones, and the smell of alder wood fire from the gazebo. The sky never did darken, just remained that dusky haze.
Morning started with a breakfast of hot oatmeal with raisins & brown sugar. Other choices included French toast, sausage, cold cereals & toast, bagels & pastries.

At 9:00 A, I joined others in a casual hike with our naturalist guide, Erick. We headed along the botanical trail, being introduced to local flora & fauna. One plant, labrador tea, was a pleasantly pungent sage aroma. We stopped at some structures erected to measure snowfall – 4 feet is not unusual. We were introduced to Widow’s tea (Monks’ hood) – named so I suppose due to its toxicity & legend of sourdough women serving it to their abusive spouses. I said earlier that Labrador tea had a sage fragrance – I’m not sure that’s entirely accurate – it’s a distinct, lovely fragrance & our guide indicated that’s the fragrance of the tundra. I wish there was a way to record that wonderful feeling it provides the senses.

I witnessed “lichen” (spelling mine, pronounced ‘liken’) and heard about “Freddie Fungus and Annie Algae” who took a liken (lichen) to each other, and now their marriage is on the rocks… must be a biologists’ inside joke. Horsetail grass which has a course texture (can be used as a scouring pad). Balsam & poplar trees – of course Alder wood, which is prolific. Bluebell/Oyster leaf which tastes like green beans to most, has a fish, “oyster” taste to some; Siberian yarrow which looks to me like Queen Anne’s Lace (only smaller – has a medicinal quality).
We visited Fannie Quigley’s cabin & heard of rugged survivalism & how she cooked & sold meals to the prospectors, how she managed to develop a gardening system by which boxes were elevated so as to achieve a soil depth above the frozen tundra floor. (perma frost).
We checked out a stretch of Moose Creek which housed a huge beaver lodge … or at least did earlier – seems the beaver ran out of a viable food source & abandoned his lodge. The lodge and dam stretched beyond the eye’s visibility.

We then headed out into the tundra. The ground covering under our feet was spongy moss. Imagine walking on a giant inclining sponge Erick pointed out blueberries & the difference between them & similar looking “crow berries”.

He challenged us to identify a plant known to eat mosquitos – calling it a round-leaf sun-dew. One member of our party correctly spotted & identified it, and so was rewarded with home-made chocolate chip cookies which she shared with the group. Erick then pointed out “cloud berries” (also known as salmon berries, for their color) which flourished along the floor. We sampled them with enthusiasm.

Walking back, he pointed out signs of visiting moose; prints along the trail which he thought to be relatively fresh. He pointed out a pile of moose skat, which he said was “winter skat” Of course I wanted to know what made it “winter’. As opposed to any other skat. In summer, moose diet is wetter – lots of foliage, so their skat looks more like a cow paddy. But in wither, when the snow covers the ground, their diet consists of sticks & bark. I now know more than I’ll ever need to know about moose skat .
We returned to camp just minutes before lunch, which was a great buffet of two delicious soups ( I had cream of seafood soup that was FULL of salmon!); ample breads, meats & cheeses for sandwiches; several fresh salads, chips, desserts and assorted beverages. A most fulfilling morning.

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation Day 2

2009-08-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

The Alaskan RR pulled out of Fairbanks at 8:15 AM. I was impressed with how clean & orderly the depot was, and how friendly was the staff. Pulling out of the depot, the platform was lined with rail personnel all smiling and waving – and looking as sincere as could be. The first hour or so was somewhat monotonous – one passenger called it “just a tunnel of trees”. Beautiful, none-the-less, for its emerald vastness.I met a charming woman named Evelyn. She is 69 yrs old, and lives in North Pole, AK. She was quite talkative, but not in an over-bearing or obnoxious sense. She was traveling to Anchorage to get her pension straightened out. She was mixing the business of her pension with the pleasure of her granddaughter’s special occasion – I think a wedding…? She was raised in MT, & came with her husband to work on the RR & stayed – that was 25 years ago. Her husband passed away a year ago at the age of 70. She rides the rail free. She was extremely well versed on AK history – she told me all about the coal mining, oil pipeline, lack of roads, severity of weather, how the lower 48 provides all of their consumer goods

We traveled through the town of Nenana, birthplace of the Ice Classics. Townsfolk gamble on the date that the ice will break up on the river. We passed by Moody Bridge – Evelyn told me there’s a wind sock on the bridge so motorists know what direction the wind is traveling so as not to get broadsided – or at least to slow down when crossing.
Arriving at Denali train depot was quite an experience. Obviously a major tourist intersection … throngs of tourists with guides and motorcoaches for all sorts of cruise lines & accommodations. I felt alone as everyone else had a bus or van or guide to take them on to their next destination. Finally, the bus from the backcountry lodge pulled up. It had been at the Denali Cabins and already had 15 or so passengers.

Dana was our driver and guide – a robust woman I’d place in her mid 40’s, and a wonderful guide! It was a very, very long (7+ hours!) ride. And my backside is stiff from the hard school bus seat. I had the good fortune of the very front seat, so had benefit of great views as well as the guide’s narration. I was glad to have good binoculars: I saw a small group of Dall sheep that wouldn’t have been visible w/ the naked eye. We saw caribou; first one & two – then 4 & 5, and at one point a herd. We saw grizzly bears – one loner, & later a sow and cub. We saw ptarmigan, blue billed magpies, many, many snowshoe hare, arctic ground squirrel, a rodent-type creature called a pica (can’t live warmer than 70º - ) and a nest with golden eagles. We saw various ducks & beaver.

>
Polychrome Pass

July 29, 2009

The mountain was “out” and was it ever impressive!!

There were several good photo opportunities & we took advantage of each one! As we were nearing the end of the road, Susan & Eric from Jackson Hole, WY spotted a moose. This was exciting – I’d never seen a moose before!! Turns out she had a calf trailing in the brush. Amazing animal.

We finally arrived at the lodge – nearly an hour after expected. We were quickly assigned cabins & then sat down for a family style dinner of fresh spinach salad, eggplant or pork loin with sides of peas & mushrooms & roasted potatoes. Coffee or tea & German chocolate cake.
I am struggling to finish this: It’s just past midnight & my body aches all over. But this is magnificent. A tidy, cedar cabin with clean, crisp bedding, the pure sound of tundra silence, the faint aroma of wood burning fireplace, and gentle, cool, pure air.
I shall sleep fast and furious.

Michelle's Excellent Alaskan Vacation

2009-08-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Day 1

July 28,2009

I am in the Alpine Lodge, Fairbanks. A long day of airplanes. It’s 11:15 pm Alaska time – which is 4 hours behind FMB time. I’m nearly on 24 hours now. It is light out – the type of light we see at 8:15-8:30-ish.
With the exception of the Ft. Myers-Miami flight, all my seats were window – “F” – and on the right side of the plane. This was fortuitous as it was the better side for best viewing. The Miami to Seattle leg was long. At one point the pilot pointed out Yellowstone National Park. That was a highlight. That leg of flight had the most turbulence and the most cloud coverage. The Seattle to Anchorage flight was awesome views, until the approach to Anchorage when it clouded over – it was raining in Anchorage. As we flew closer to Anchorage the mountains grew larger. They looked like dessert dusted with confectioners’ sugar. I am sure I saw glaciers. I dug my camera out of my bag to take a shot from the airplane. As luck would have it, it clouded over almost instantaneously.
I had never seen such mountains – such rugged terrain.
Anchorage was gray & wet. We had about an hour lay over, so I sat at the gate looking out over the tarmac. I noticed it appeared that many folks – mostly men – use the airlines to commute – not like the NYC, DC kind of commute, but “boots on the ground” workers, who carried folders of what looked like active construction projects. One man held a cell phone conversation as he sat down next to me in the airport. It had been warm – or so Alaskans thought. “60’s” was getting warm! Most folks didn’t have A/C – he mentioned attending a “moose roast”!
My Anchorage to Fairbanks leg found me sitting next to a very chatty man who has lived in Fairbanks for 25 years. He gave me quite a history of Alaska – explaining the flora & fauna, the population and industry, the slough & mud flats, the winters & fuel charges, even the dish on Sarah Palin.
All in all a most full day!

Catch Up

2009-08-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

I find myself having to think hard to recall what today's date is, what time of year it is - spring, summer, fall - time is like a flash. I returned home from vacation nearly 2 weeks ago, and it seems like only yesterday. So much to catch up upon. I only just now went through my aol inbox and cleared out 150 e-mails. It's Sunday afternoon and I haven't been out of the house, yet. Gracie is napping out of boredom, I'm sure. Lauren returned to Tampa Friday nite, for classes to start tomorrow. I still haven't completely unpacked. What to do first.

I kept a journal on vacation, all hand-written. I'm entertaining the idea of transcribing some of it to this blog, along with some of the GREAT photos I took. That's added to the list of "what to do first". Hopefully soon I can record some of my observations, etc. For kicks and grins, though, and until I do, here's one of my favorite photos, taken in Denali National Park along Moose Creek:

Greetings from Glacier Bay National Park

2009-08-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hi
I thought I'd pay the .75 cents / minute for internet to drop a note - little did I know it'd take fifteen minutes to log in..
We're cruising Glacier Bay National Park. It's very foggy right now, but we'll be crusing all day, so there's hope that visibilty will improve as the day progresses.
So far the trip's been pretty good. Denali Backcountry Lodge was awesome! It was all I hoped it would be. We saw "The Mountain" "The High One" "Denali" - Had spectacular views and I got some good shots. They say only 30% of the visitors see the mountain - and then theres statistics about late July - early August that are even slimmer - like 3%.
College Fijord was fantastic. Thanks to brother Ken for the advice on being sure to get up early to see it. I went to bed about 2:00 AM Sunday nite (Monday AM) so getitng up at 5:30 to catch the view at 6:00 AM took incentive and determination. It was more than well worth it.
I'm not convinced that cruising is all others say it is. Today's only Tuesday, so maybe HAL can/will redeem themselves. I went to the dining room for dinner last night at 6:00 PM. It was nearly 8:30 when I was seated - well after every single other guest came in - reservations or not. I sent a very direct note to the Guest Relations Manager. How difficult is it to find a seat for a solo traveler? I'd've sat with the help, at that point. Consequently, I missed the meet and greet with the captain , the 8:00 Broadway show, and the start of the movie. I ended up listening to some very bad karaoke.
My blackberry's not working - no Verizon on the horizon.
Alaska is absolutely fabulous. I'm surprised at the similarities between the Hawaiian people and the Tlingit/ Chilkat/ Aleutians. I'm learning a lot about culture, natural resources, environment etc. Wonderful, Wonderful trip.
Love to You!
Michelle

T minus one

2009-07-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

i just returned from getting my manicure and pedicure - only the second time in my life i've had a professional pedicure - and the first time for a professional manicure. i asked the nail technician if she liked her work. In very broken english she indicated that she did: nine years she's been a nail tech. But then she went on to tell me how she works two jobs, always has - not wanting all the eggs in one basket - but that her husband and her son who is 24 worked for the same company and lost their jobs a few months ago. I already had the ten dollar bill out on the table (can't reach into the pocket w/ a fresh manicure) which was a little more than 20% tip, but I was feeling as if I should give her more.
My bags are packed, with the exception of the items that will go in my carry-on: my binoculars, my camera, my cell phone, a clean shirt and change of underwear, toothbrush and paste, soap and moisturizer. It has been years since I've checked baggage: in my air travels over the past 4 years I've always managed and prefered to carry on. This trip, however, is for 14 days, and includes backcountry hiking as well as formal night on a luxury cruiseline. I'm checking two bags. I could fit it all in one, however when I get to the Denali Park entrance, and board the bus to the backcountry lodge, i'm limited to 35 lbs. of luggage. So I will leave my "cruise bags" at the park entrance and take the second bag with me into Kantishna. I have to pay for my checked baggage, but because this trip is such a big deal to me, the trip of a lifetime - I'm not going to quibble over a few dollars for bags. I want to do what I want, have what I want, wear what I want, etc.
It is...all about me, right now!
Sarah came by earlier and took Gracie's crate, her treats and toys and an 18lb bag of kibble. She'll be by after work to take Gracie and her dog dish to her house, where she can hang with Ruka and Lola - two one-year-old labs. I gave Sarah some $$ - told her if she needs anything for Gracie to buy it - and before I could finish, Sarah asked Gracie: "you want to go shopping?!" .. then I explained that should she need anything for Gracie to buy it, and let me know and I'd pay her back - that I was paying her for caring for Gracie. That changed her complexion right quick! Heck - it's better'n a kennel and a heap cheaper.
i am not taking a computer, so probably will not be posting to this blog until I return. I may try a post from my Blackberry, but then again may not.

Tee minus three

2009-07-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a week. Events at Town Hall went national - I heard it even went international. CBS morning show, Inside Edition - even Conan O'Brien mentioned it. Quite exhausting. Politics and Porn. When I left work on Tuesday afternoon, I was riding high in pre-vacation mode. That all changed within the course of a few hours. Smacked in the middle of a media blitz. I spent three full work days fulfilling public records requests, redacting, fielding and deflecting. Reporters are quick to site "Freedom of information", but have no clue to what the law provides. One of the requests I received was for a copy of Janke's personnel file. He is in a protected class, so information such as his home address, phone number, his children's names and addresses, drivers license number, photographs.... all this information is exempt form disclosure. Then there's the matter of e-mails. I had to review hundreds of e-mails, to be sure that personal information was not being delivered to the media.
Instead of taking the day off or leaving early on Friday, I ended up working until 7:00 PM.
I am officially on vacation.
Today was spent being sure all the laundry was done. Tomorrow I pack. Monday I plan to get a manicure and pedicure, hopefully spend some time on the beach (relaxing and getitng rays!) and getting to bed early.
Tuesday I fly out at 7:40 AM. I land in Fairbanks at 8:00 Fairbanks time - midnite my time. Sixteen hours. Yikes.

Savoring Saturday

2009-07-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

In my childhood days, we did chores every saturday morning - often well into the afternoon, sometimes, too. At breakfast, which was an assembly-line chore in itself, Dad would hand out his single sheet pieces of paper for each of us with our list of chores. Saturday morning chores was a way of life for me well into adulthood. When I married and had babies, my husband couldn't understand why I was housecleaning etc. on my day off! Why not go boating/fishing/to the beach? That was a battle I ultimately lost...
So yesterday was a Saturday cleaning day. I woke with no set plan for the day, but knew I had a hand-full of odds n ends to accomplish. One thing led to another and I was in full-blown cleaning mode: washing floors, shampooing carpets, cleaning out cupboards - everything but the windows! Although I have 8 days before vacation, I'm already in pre-vacation mode: I want everything in order before I leave, so there's a chance it will be in reasonable order when I return. It felt really good to have a clean home, but it was alot of work. I sat down on the sofa and exhaled a long deep sigh. It was nearly 5:30 in the evening. I was sweaty and dirty, and hungry. I decided to treat myself to a very nice dinner - out, off the island, hopefully somewhere that I wouldn't run in to anyone I know.
I took a nice hot shower in my squeaky-clean bathroom, wrapped myself in a freshly laundered Turkish cotton robe, moisturized my skin with Black Currant Vanilla aromatherapy massage oil.
I dried my hair, slipped into a white cotton skirt, black halter top, and my great liz claiborne black sandals. Some mascara and lip gloss, a straw handbag and sunglasses, and I was out the door into my nifty CR-V.
I thought I would try the Sandy Butler, a relatively new restaurant - they've been opened a little over a year. It's just off the island up on San Carlos Boulevard. I hear it's quite nice, large, unique and pricy. I pulled into the parking lot and it looked like there weren't many patrons. The very large parking lots had cars scattered about - a look of employees' cars more than patrons. For a woman to dine alone on a Saturday night, it's usually best if the restaurant has ample clientele: dining alone is amplified in a large, empty restaurant. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed up the boulevard.
At the light at Summerlin, I decided to turn left and head toward Sanibel Island. I ran over in my mind restaurants that I might try: It was about 8:00 and the sun would be setting soon - a restaurant on the water with a sunset view would be awesome. Just passed the Tanger Outlet Mall, and on the approach to the Sanibel Causeway, I spotted Port Sanibel Marinahttp://www.portsanibelmarina.com/ on my right. The Lighthouse Restauranthttp://www.lighthousewaterfrontrestaurant.com/ was at the front of the Marina. I had lunch there a few years ago and it was quite lovely, so I pulled into the parking lot. The cars in the lot indicated the restaurant was enjoying a good business.
I was offered a choice of dining inside or out: "It's not buggy, is it?" I asked the maitre d'. "It's screened in.." he replied, and so I took a seat on the large, white wrap-around porch overlooking the marina. The sun was dropping to the horizon as I took my seat. Paddle fans circulated the balmy air. A waiter in crisp cotton uniform wished me good evening. I had a beefeater martini that was perfectly chilled that went perfectly with a half dozen oysters on the half shell served in an equally perfect dish over crushed ice, with lemon wedges, horse radish, cocktail sauce and saltines. Divine. After a salad of fresh greens and a house dressing, my entree arrived: Ahi tuna with wasabi and ginger and soy. Perfectly rare and delicately sliced. A glass of cabernet was a fine accent. I picked up the chopsticks and chuckled to myself as I looked at them trying to determine whether they were chinese or japanese. I was pleased with my abilty to use them without much ado. The sun set flooding the sky with deep pink colors that faded to darkness. Gradually the marina lights came on bouncing off the yachts along the docks. "I deserve it" I found myself saying to myself. A wonderful dinner and a wonderful evening.
"Would you care for desert?" he asked. "No..." I said hesitantly. Hesitating not because I wanted desert, but that I was savoring the rich glass of wine, thinking that I already had desert...
I paid my bill, tipping the waiter 25% - not that his service was so spectacular, or for any reason other than I thought he just might need a few extra bucks. I was just in the mood.
I returned home to my ultra-clean digs. Gracie had been sleeping, but the minute I came in, she grabbed her toy wanting to play. I took her outside and we teased the very large moth that darted around the front porch light. She barked at the newt that seemed to fancy the moth, although the moth was twice its size. Eventually, I crawled into the crisp cotton blush pink colored sheets - read a short story about the Athabascan Indians in my "Denali - a literary anthology" book before turning out the lights and drifty sweetly to sleep.

WAVES across the country..

2009-07-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Gulf of Mexico waves hello from Southwest Florida!

Annual Cut

2009-07-10T19:29:00.001-07:00

I walked into Ollie's for my twelve noon appointment. The atmosphere was immediately lively. i sat down in a wicker love seat and picked up a copy of today's edition of the Island SandPaper. Across from me sat a man I guessed to be late 20's, early 30's in a T-shirt and denim shorts. Ollie was holding court. She'd stepped away from the head she was styling, and stood in the middle of the room, directing her voice to Linda Gale, who worked at the station across the room. Comb in one hand and shears in the other, Ollie told her story to everyone who would listem. With her Portuguese accent and flair for exageration, we all heard about Daniel's attempt to be a truck driver and getting stuck in a drivethrough window.
The manicurist was finishing up with a client, instructing her to hold her fingers apart while her nails dried. Her client was a young girl about ten years old, who quickly joined the man sitting across from me in the Tshirt and denim shorts. "Michelle, you wanna shampoo?" Ollie called. I nodded and she gestured to the sinks in the back of the shop.
I hate this part. I never remember if I'm supposed to hold the towel around my neck, I sit up too high in the reclining chairs and am never sure whether I've got my neck properly cradled along the sink. Then comes the worst part: The shampoo -ist's arm pit inches above my nose. Of course they lather twice and rinse and condition, all the while the pit is at the nose.
I sat in the chair and Ollie commented how long my hair has gotten. "It's been nearly a year since you last cut it" I told her. I pulled out a photo I'd printed that was taken of me last year, just a couple of weeks after Ollie last cut my hair, in September 2008. "This was a great cut, but I don't want it quite so short today." I told her. She chuckled and chattered and went about combing and pinning my hair.
Ollie clipped and quipped, cut and chattered. I could tell she was totally ignoring my request that it not be as short as when she cut it last year. Why did I bother? Ollie's been cutting my hair for years, and understands the waves and cowlicks in my head, and always gives me a beautiful cut. It's always what Ollie thinks looks best.
With a "finished style" I paid her - she always whispers under her breathe.." Just gimme ...x dollars..." Today it was $25.00. I grew up with the Miss Manners advise that one doesn't tip the shop owner. I haven't tipped Ollie, but it's always bothered me that she thinks me cheap. I have tipped the shampoo girl and bought a product or two in the past. Today, I tipped Ollie. It just happened that I paid cash and she was making change so I just let the change be a tip.
It's a good cut. It makes my hair look a heckuva lot healthier. I feel "perkier", not so drawn and weighted down. Considering i only do this about once a year, I'd say I sure got my money's worth!

Three weeks and counting - day 1

2009-07-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, 7.7.09. Three weeks from today I fly out of Southwest Regional Airport, into Miami International Airport for a 6-hour flight into Seattle, WA, then Alaska Airlines to Anchorage and then on to Fairbanks. A courtesy vehicle will pick me up from AAC and take me to the Alpine Lodge for the night.

The next morning, very early, I'll board the Alaskan Railroad to the entrance to Denali National Park.There in the care of the hosts, I'll leave my extra luggage, and transport to the bus that will take me deep into the heart of Alaska - into Denali National Park, into Kantishna - by Wonder Lake.
http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/webcams/parks/denacam/denacam.cfm

We'll arrive at supper time, about 7 or 8 PM. We'll check in to our cedar rustic cabins, only to return to the main lodge for family style dinner. Here is where I'll plan the next few days: fly fishing, mountain biking, naturalists' tours, or gold panning - or relaxing.
I am very excited about being so remote - by myself - yet safe. No phones, no TVs, and 23 hours of daylight!
Come along with me, my friends, on this journey. I know the trip is 3 weeks away, but the planning is underway. Today I booked my "shore excursion" from the cruise ship in Juneau. I booked the Mendenhall Glacier Tour and Salmon Bake! Wikipedia rocks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendenhall_Glacier
I am yet to book other excursions in Haines and Ketchikan - and then in to port in Vancouver.
Exciting times, these next few weeks!!

Kisses!

2009-07-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning from a dream of Vince Vaughn trying to kiss me. I dodged his advances because "everyone knew" that he was only looking for sex. I amused myself with the thought that I must be as attractive as Jennifer Aniston!
Dreams sure are crazy things!!

The Week Recapped

2009-07-03T07:52:00.001-07:00

Just finished another week of "clerks' school" as I like to call it. Another round of continuing education. This annual conference was held at the Sanibel Harbor Resort. Our incoming president is the clerk for the city of Sanibel. Being so close to my Town, I didn't stay at the resort. It was a different experience commuting. Considering i usually bicycle to the office - a whole 60 second bike ride - getting in a car and driving for "work" each morning was quite a change in my routine. i surprised myself at how well I did it. Some of the presenters were local professionals that I have dealt with for years. The Lee County Director of the Emergency Operations Center presented one session. Our Supervisor of Elections for the county and her qualifying officer gave another session. Add to it that our district was the host district (second year in a row) I felt "special" - being recognized by the speakers and the president(s) and the board of directors.
Today is a holiday - good deal. A 3-day weekend after an arduous week of school always a welcome relief. My brother and his wife have a bus-load of company - her sister and husband and children and children's children and friends. They're a delightful family and I'm sure we'll be adding to the annual fireworks displays over the next few days!
I am finally beginning to feel like myself again. Smart folks probably would have gone to the doctor months ago. I of course believe that I can heal myself, which I have done, it just takes a heck of a lot longer! I fell in love with Arizona brand green tea with Pomegranate & Acai. I have a tall thermos that I keep filled all day long. It has worked wonders - the benefits of the warm water as well as the tea. My newest 'fad'.
The weather has been hot and humid. Combined with my low energy level and full work schedule, I haven't given Gracie the outside exercise she needs. Regardless, she looks healthy and hasn't exhibited behavioral problems such as destroying the furniture. She has her 'toy' which is a knotted rope that she loves to try to destroy, her ball (a big red rubber one) and her 'Kong' which she has mastered the treats-retrieval. She's really a good girl.
Three weeks til VACATION!! Whoo hoo!!!

Gracie in the Garden

2009-06-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

You say it's your birthday!?

2009-06-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

I treated my daughters and their boyfriends to dinner last night. Yesterday was Sarah's birthday, and Lauren's was 3 weeks ago. Dinner was in celebration of both birthdays. Sarah chose Doc Ford's http://www.docfordsfortmyersbeach.com/- a new restaurant just over the bridge on the mainland. (they also have a Sanibel location). I called to ask if we needed reservations, somewhat tongue in cheek, as it's dead summer, and most places are barely surviving. The hostess told me they accept reservations for parties of 6 or more - we are 5. She suggested I call a half hour before we plan to arrive, which I did.
I drove - the kids decided my car was the most luxurious (<>). You'd think I was a stranger to this area, as I drove over the bridge and turned right onto Main Street, only to realize that it's one-way. I turned around and was stopped at the light to cross San Carlos, while we made fun of the car that was pulled over by the sheriff. When the light changed, I started to turn left to go back up over the bridge - SOOO not paying attention! Sarah was quick to say, NO! Go straight! I'm sure the sheriff had his eye on my erratic driving, as well!
We walked in and were told it was a 25 minute wait. Seeing the puzzled look on my face, the hostess said that had we not called 30 minutes ago, the wait would have been 45 minutes. The pla
ce was jumpin'! As we tried to figure out where we could go to wait (inside bar, outside bar, upstairs bar or downstairs bar) we ran into several friends probably checking out the new place to dine. We decided to go downstairs to wait.
Downstairs was a boardwalk with two open air bars, several tables and chairs, a stage with a two-man band playing favorites all along Hurricane Pass, part of the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve.
We realized that there was food service at the outside bars, so I asked if it was the same menu as upstairs, and with an affirmative response, I asked why there was a wait upstairs, and not downstairs. "Some people just don't like to eat outside" was the response. We were all OK with dining 'al fresco', it was a beautiful evening, with a view of the bay and a gentle, balmy breeze.
Ice water all around, a martini for me, beers for the kids - all except Brent, who was drinking cherry cokes.

I picked up my ice water and before it got to my lips, managed to pour it down the front of me! Well, it was only water, and my shirt was cotton, and we were outdoors and , well, it'd dry. (When we began taking photos, however, I forgot about my water front wear, and ...alas! looks a bit tacky in the photos! )

We had appetizers of tosquitos with pesto, and black beans and purple corn chips. I ordered a half pound of peel and eat shrimp and a calamari salad, with extra lemon. It was a huge plate of awesome food, and the shrimp were large, perfectly steamed. Sarah ordered salmon, Lauren ordered fish tacos, Brent ordered a cheese steak and Kevin ordered parmesean chicken.

While we were eating, a woman approached me and asked, "Did I use to work with you at the News-Press?" (Good lord...I left the News-Press in 1995!) Her face was vaguely familiar, her eyes, mostly. "Yes, I said..." not sure if I knew her... she knew me, "Michelle, right?" Her name was Susan. Darned if I can place her. I was somewhat embarassed that I didn't remember her. Kevin said, "That must mean that you're a very memorable person" (is the boyfriend sucking up to the mom?!)

For desert, Sarah ordered a chocolate martini (she didn't know we had chocolate cake waiting back at the house!)

Brent snuck away and had the band play "Happy Birthday" to Sarah.

The kids danced to island faves.
We headed back to my place, fired up 22 candles, sang and ate cake and opened gifts.
Sarah's roommate was texting her, saying that there were people coming over for her "surprise" birthday party, and where was she?
Ah, tough being a birthday girl with all the demands!!
It was a good evening.

Quagmire

2009-06-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

I feel as though caught in a quagmire. My health is still not as good as it can be; I have chest congestion and shortness of breath, and after being vertical for several hours, my ears feel like I'm underwater. My energy level is low. I drag myself out of bed each morning, after hitting the snooze on my alarm three and four times. I haven't had decent exercise in quite some time. Oh, I walk Gracie, but I haven't had my kayak out or taken a good, hard bicycle ride. I no longer have to double over the waist band on most of my pants - they fit. I haven't been on a scale because I don't want to confirm what I suspect. Maybe this quagmire is a rut.
I am moving closer to my dream vacation - just a month away. Most all plans are in place. It's somewhat like two vacations in one - the rugged, backcountry lodge with limited luggage, and the opulent Holland America cruise with its "formal nights" and shows and clubs. I am "mentally packing." A stroke of luck came last night in a conversation with my daughter. She was perusing my cruise itinerary, offering advice for shore excursions, and we were talking about the weather. I mentioned that I was unsure whether to buy hiking boots, mentioning various other footwear I own that would suffice, depending on the terrain and weather. Then she said, " I have those boots that you bought for me when I went to Colorado" and she went to her room an brought them out. UREEKA! They are PERFECT! They are Merrell brand, waterproof, broken in, and MY SIZE!! Good deal...just saved me a hundred bucks and the grief of a decision and break-in period!
The next 30 days will go by in a flurry. Sunday starts 4 days of clerks' school. Then a holiday weekend, back to back council meetings and all smack in the middle of budget hell. I'll be taking 18 days' vacation - unheard of! And, those days will be "incommunicato" - I am taking my BB Storm, but no laptop, and in the backcountry there's no communication, and on the cruise, I believe it's limited to ports. Maybe it's my "indispensable" opinion of myself, but I like to think more that it's "no body can find anything in my office, unless I'm there..." I
I'm concerned about care for Gracie - my girls are here, but, they have their young and wild lifestyles, and Gracie is accustomed to my boring homey style. Of course I worry that she'll be well cared for.
Tomorrow's my older daughter's birthday - 22! I bought her some great gifts, and am taking her and her boyfriend, and other daughter and boyfriend out for dinner. Both daughters were born in June - always been a good balance of june birthdays and december christmas - made gift-giving pretty even.
I expected my brother to call tonight, but perhaps his plans changed. I am over-due on laundry, have been eating processed foods and feel perpetually sleep-deprived.
Things must change...

Donde esta?

2009-06-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

My daughter created a CD for me of classical pieces and gave it to me forChristmas. It's high on my list of favorites, and I'm listening to it tonight. It begins with Chopin, then Haydn. The third track is one I most enjoy: Pachelbel's Canon in D major, by Bach. Of the 15 cuts on this CD, it's interesting that she chose to add an opera, Turandot - Nessun dorma by Puccini. In addition to Chopin, Haydn and Bach, the mix contains Mozart, Beethoven and Palestrina.
It's a beautiful evening. I rounded it out with some deep cleaning. After repairing the front door from Gracie's claws scratching at it - which involved wood putty, sanding and painting, the door looks great. I did some deep-clean vacuuming etc. Dishes are done, bathroom's clean, fresh bed sheets. I watered the plants in my garden, pruned the rose bushes and brought in a dozen blooms. A solitary red bloom is here on the kithchen table in a tall blue vase. Three of the velvety red blooms are just newly beginning buds, in a short vase on the coffee table. Three long, fragrant white blooms are perched on the credenaza in a tall, sleek "carnival glass" vase. A solitare pink bloom stands out of a bud vase in the hall. I love roses.
Not only did the house get a cleaning, but I took an indulgent shower. I shampooed, conditioned, scrubbed and rinsed, moisturized and pampered all the areas of my body. I draped myself in my fine Turkish cotton robe. I used lavender oil mixed with moisturizer to coat my entire body. I have a crisp, tall martini alongside a plate of sushi.
Clasical music, sushi, roses and a martini. Oh... and the seductive scent of lavender.
The only thing missing is you.

The Tropics

2009-06-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

Ah, Friday night. What a fast and painful week. I received a "Heat Advisory" from the national Weather Service through our county EOC from noon today to 7PM tomorrow, record heat. With the temperature and the humidity it'll feel like 105 to 110.
I came home from work last evening, and the thermostat on the A/C was set at 70 and registered about 82. The fan was set to 'on' instead of 'auto'. Last year it froze up, and the landlord had his guy give it more freon. I put my hand under the various vents, and it was blowing, but didn't feel real cold. Lauren was at work, my guess it was hot in the house in the afternoon before work, and she dropped the A/C down to get cool. And it couldn't catch up.
I turned off the unit, and walked out back and looked at it to see whether it appeared to be iced over. It started sprinkling, and the Northeastern sky was stormy dark. The wind was picking up and a thunderstorm was iminent. I went back inside and opened all the windows, pulled back the drapes and ran the ceiling fans on high. The sound of thunder and the cracks of lightning harmonized with wind-whipped palms in the balmy sweet evening air.
I woke this morning just after dawn and was first surprised at how good I had slept and how good it felt to have the fresh air. The moist humidity is very soothing to my irritated sinuses and lungs.
When I came home for lunch today, Lauren had closed up and put the A/C on. It was struggling, still, but with such high heat, it was hard to judge its working order. I came home this evening, and still wonder if it's failing. Right now it's quite comfortable at 78. The weather forcast, other than the heat advisory, predicts thunderstorms daily for the next week.I guess the Summer Storms have come.

Hot Tea in a Bright Yellow Mug

2009-06-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

I boiled water for tea and lingered over the steamy pot inhaling the warm moisture into my nasal passages and lungs. My mug of choice for my morning tea is a souvenir from my '05 trip to Santa Monica - It's sunny yellow in color, purple inside the cup, with a red band around the rim and a bright red heart above the word, california. It's one of my favorites.
It has been a long, difficult work week. Monday eve was a council meeting and that usually sets the pace for the week - a pace that mimicks 'catch up' which is what I spend the balance of the week doing. We're in "budget hell" or as my finance director calls it, "Silly Season" Our offices are next to each other, such a close proximity that we fall into the habit of talking to each other from our desks. She is incredibly talented in her work and a kind, pleasant person. She frequently gives me sound advice in everything from personnel matters to dealing with the politics of a small town. We have a very good working relationship, so I spent a good deal of time over the past couple of days helping her with minor work details that fall under my "expertise". Document retrieval, imaging, reproducing, binding, etc. Our office doors meet at a 90 degree angle, so that anyone standing in her doorway, is practically standing in mine, as well, and vice versa. Sometimes - (most times) it makes me so crazy I can't even think. Because of "silly season' she has a great deal of traffic in and out of her office. I find myself sinking further and further behind. When the whistle blows at 4:30 (Yabba Dabba Do!) I can finally manage to do some of the tasks that require concentration. Finally, yesterday, at 6:00, I decided to call it a day.
Last night I did most of the chores that I occupy my saturday mornings with - dishes, laundry, cleaning. So this Saturday morning, I'm free to pursue leisure activities, yet my head feels like it's under water and this hot tea is just so comforting.

Adventures in Dreamland

2009-06-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

WOW! What an awesome adventure in dreamland! My journey began at the start of a bridge across an expanse of sea water. The bridge was no more than a catwalk, with 2, 2x4's for footing held up by ropes that extended up to weave into handrails. I had crossed this bridge once before and I knew it was defective: the last third of the bridge deteriorated into only one plank and one hand rail - on the right side. I approached at first realizing that I was wearing flip flops, which would impede my footing, and I chanced losing a sandal into the drink. In my left hand I carried a bouquet of Lillies - orange, so probably Tiger Lillies. Because of the twists and turns of my travels, the lillies became repeatedly torn and bruised. One gust of weather caught the bouquet clear out of my hand.
I was at the boat ramp, aboard the boat I'd reserved. Lauren was with me, although never appeared. I was sailing a small sailboat, but not very successfully. Twice, the boat nearly tipped onto the left side, with me holding the sails just enough that we didn't capsize. After awhile, our destination was insight, and with great difficulty, I steared the boat to the dock. Just before reaching the dock, I jumped out and was swimming/pushing the boat to the dock. I pulled myself out of the water onto the dock. Immediately I realized my cell phone was in my pocket and I'd been in the water! I pulled it out, and dried it off. A man who worked there came up and said he knew justwhat to do, and set the phone out in the sunshine.
I mingled with other (more experienced_) sailors. We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, talked the weather. My dream's eye saw a view of the penninsula of Florida - from the perspective of a jet airplane. I saw the southern tip, the keys, and the Dry Tortugas - although in my dream, the Tortugas were in the geographic location of Cuba and Haiti. I saw a ship streaming through the water.
The dream filtered into other images, culminating in my parents' dining room at the 63 Fairview in the Poconos.. my eldest brother and his wife were there showing me framed photos of my mother that we were assembling as a gift. While we chatted, my dad came up and hugged me and kissed me. It was nice to see him. Dad died in 1997. June 10 is his birthday. What a nice treat.

word-deprived

2009-06-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

It has been some days since I last wrote an entry. I find inspiration at times such as 4:00 AM, standing in the vacant lot looking up at the sky, watching the patches of midnite drift over a waxing moon. These are times that cause me to yearn for a fenced yard for Gracie. I am sure I must be quite a sight in my bathrobe, being tugged around in the dew-ladened yard. What is it that makes the perfect place to poop?
I have been "under the weather" for several weeks, now. In April a flu bug had me down for the count. Now, I seem to have a residual effect in my lungs. My co-workers are tired of hearing me cough, I'm sure. I finally went to the drug store and bought an over the counter expectorant. I sat outside yesterday in the sun, reading, ...and hacking. This morning after a hot, steamy shower, I took a walk with Gracie to check out the "Shark Fest" going on down under the bridge. I guess Gracie was out of shape, as she sat down in the shade panting profusely - and we hadn't even gotten to our destination. It's been all week since she's been out, and it guilts me big time, but it has been all I can do to get up and go to work. When ones airways are so constricted, energy levels are so depleted. This morning's walk was cut short, and she's snoozing in the cool A/C.
I have a few options of how to spend my afternoon: some involve chores, while others involve leisure activities. I'll probably find a balance between the two. I just finished a hot steamy bowl of seafood soup - chinese delivery from LIn's Garden. It made for a tasty lunch.

It's a good life

2009-05-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

it is saturday evening, and almost the first of June. Things pass so quickly. It has been a short week, and a short spring. We are on the edge of hurricane season here in southwest Florida. That is always a bother. When i worked in the private sector, it was just a matter of amusement. Now as an employee of the local municipality, as the Town's PIO, it's a bother. Let's hope for a very quiet season.

Last night my daughter and her boyfriend joined me for a friday nite supper. Lauren went to the market and bought 1 1/2 lbs. of red grouper. I fired up the grill and made mesquite grilled grouper sandwiches - with all the trimmings - lettuce, tomato, onion, dill pickle wedges - coleslaw and french fries. Yummmmy! It was nice to have dinner company, and it was a casual, pleasant evening. Lauren taught me how to use my new camera!

Here's La and bf Kev - trying out my new camera:

I spent today - Saturday - mindless and mundane. I did manage to whack some weeds that were growing up around my rose bushes, and I did manage to prune and water them. I accomplished this in the late evening, starting around 5:30 pm and finishing in the neighborhood of 7:30. I waited until it wasn't quite so hot and humid out, but didn't figure in the no-seeums. Gosh Darn It...they are the most annoying little insects going! I managed to do what I set out to do, hurrying in the last few minutes as my tolerance for the bugs had long run out.
I near ran inside - sweaty, dirty, itchy. I've been battling what suggests to be a bit of bronchitis - perhaps a carry-over from the flu I experienced last month. Being out doors in the humidity is beneficial to my lungs. I come inside to the A/C, and I cough. A steamy, long, hot shower was just what I craved - to relieve the irritation in my lungs, soothe my bitten, thorn-pricked, dirty irritated skin.
I picked some of the blooms from my frangipani, and placed them in a small container on the coffee table. I remembered some aroma therapy oil I had and pulled that out and swabbed my skin with the scent of bergamot. I read with careful attention, "Birds of Alaska" in preparation for my vacation. I'm 3/4ths through the book, "Two in the Far North". Chopin is on the stereo.
Gracie is on the couch, after several bouts of scratching at the door only to go out with only play in mind.
It's a good life.

Hush little baby don't say a word

2009-05-26T20:32:00.001-07:00

About 3:30 this afternoon I realized I would be working late. Holiday weekends are wonderful, but they tend to shorten the work week, that reeks havoc on deadlines.

I got home shortly after 6:00 PM. The house looked as I had left it; no signs that Lauren had been by. That meant that Gracie was last out when I was last home.

I took Gracie out for business.

I put Gracie on the 20' lead that is now latched to the picnic table, since she tore down her zip line. She does best when I am out with her, even though I remind her that it is not all about - HER.

I spent a few minutes outside while Gracie was on the lead - I refreshed the water in the bird bath, splashed a bit on the bromeliads and orchids, and dumped and refilled Gracie's outside water dish.

Then I went back inside. While inside, I opened the mail, and busied myself with the home stuff after being at work all day. Gracie began to bark. She likes to bark at Phoebe and Dukie, the neighbor's cats. I sat listening to her bark, wondering how parenting could come into play. Finally, I'd had enough and went outside to bring her in.

I strolled outside, already giving Gracie my summation of why she was barking; the neigbor cats had her in a dither.

Then I saw the object of Gracie's attention. A young mockingbird was hobbling across the driveway.
OMG!!! It's a baby bird! I watched as it hobbled and tried its wings. I got Gracie's Tony the
Tiger bowl and filled it with water from the garden hose. I lightly stepped within a few feet of the young bird, and offered the water dish. As I approached, it retreated. I tossed some water in the air, and it opened its beek receptively, still retreating.

I backed off. Then I thought, " How can I help this bird?" Given the number of cats in this neighborhood I decided I should put it somewhere safe.

This baby bird is walking near dead center of the street. It flaps but cannot fly.

I put on my gardein gloves and approached the chick from behind. Each step forward I took, it took - and vice versa. Shortlty I managed to pick upt this youngling and approached the vacant lot.

Immediately, an adult mockingbird was on my back! Seconds later , another mockingbird was at my head. I dropped the chic, and ran. I stopped and looked up: "OK! " I shouted. "I left it alone! CRIMINY!!!

A full hour after this incident, the mockinbirds continued to chatter in the trees. Periodically, Gracie and I would check the garden for any bird action. Well after sundown, the mockingbirds were quiet.

Tonight's incident compels me to revist "To Kill a Mockingbird"

A Good Sunday

2009-05-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

Today is much prettier than yesterday, as far as the color and clarity of the sky. I slept late and well. Most times, my first thought on waking is to take Gracie out before she does business inside. My second thought today was marveling at how good I felt. Last month I was hit with a flu bug that really kicked me down for sometime. (It was just enough ahead of the swine flu curve that I didn't associate the symptoms with pigs - but the symptoms were the same after the fact). This past Monday I woke with a stuffy head, eyes sore throat and a dry annoying cough. Today I still have the cough, but my head feels much clearer.

I spent an hour or better on the internet viewing various comments and reviews by consumers and consumer reports and tech mags (like PC World) on digital cameras. I'm rather certain what I'll buy, but want to see one other than online and hold it in my hand before I decide. I'll probably go in to Town this afternoon. (Seems a shame on a beautiful beach day like today!..but that's the dilemna I usually find myself in - hard to get anything done when it's always a beautiful beach day!).

After camera review, I took a new book and a glass of lemonade and Gracie and I sat out in the garden. The sun was hot, but it felt good. After a short while, however, the sweat was interfering with my reading so I moved to the shade. Then all the distractions came, chatty neighbors, cats teasing the dog, dog digging the chair leg so I'd calve in, and no see-ums. Ugh. We retreated back indoors.

I am reading "Two in the Far North" by Margaret Murie. The story begins in 1911 in Seattle. The author is nine years old. She and her mother are going by steam ship to join her father in Alaska. Daddy is Assistant US Attorney, and they are making their home in Fairbanks. I' m halfway through the book, and she is now in her early twenties, married to a biologist employed by the US Fish and Wildlife to study caribou in the arctic. Pretty cool stuff.

I've got two months before I leave for Fairbanks, "The High One" - Denali, and the Inside Passage. I'm pretty excited. I hope I don't get myself so worked up that when the adventure arrives it's anti-climatic. Is that possible?!

On with the day!

A Saturday Morning Walk

2009-05-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

Gracie and I just returned from a nice long Saturday morning walk. Even before noon, it's hot and humid. I'm sitting here with a tall glass of fresh, homemade lemonade - nothing like it for quenching a thirst.

We crossed Estero at the Mango Street access - there's no crosswalk, so it's sort of a no-no, but the closest crosswalk is at the Chapel Street access, and there's a year-long litigation going on between the Town and the adjacent property owner, and I am staying as far away from that area as I can! When Gracie's nostrils fill with the salt air, she lunges and pulls me to the shore. I kick off my flip-flops and tuck them in the back of my shorts. The tide is strong, incoming, and high. The surf is kicked up and the water is turbid. The sky is partly cloudy and the humidity is high. There is a lot of beach activity, with all the parasail, jet-ski and umbrella and lounge chair vendors setting up in anticipation of a busy day.

We've had a lot of rain this past week, and the storms have kicked up the gulf. The shoreline has large deposits of shells turned up from the sea floor, that have not yet been bleached or broken. We pass a group of women in the "sanibel stoop" as it's been known, bent over with a shirt-sack full of sea shells. We strolled past the Lani Kai, a rare glimpse of its bare blue canvas chairs, which will be completely filled with bathing suit bodies before the day is through.

Passing in front of the Beach Pierside Grill, the tide is way up on the seawall, forcing us to walk knee deep to get up to the pier. We walked up to Times Square where merchants served breakfast al fresco and set up their outdoor displays of t-shirts and sand toys. Remembering an ad in the beach paper about a new building about to have a grand opening, I decided to walk down and check it out. The building is in the place of a favorite spot of mine; Dockside. Dockside had the BEST pizza and wings EVER. They have been around forever, and the building was falling down. So the owners tore it down and are replacing it with a type of "shopping village." They promise me they will have their famous pizza and wings. We'll see.

We paused at the fountain and gazebo at the back bay. Two public works guys who work for the Town were doing their rounds, and we chatted briefly. I noticed that the bay was far calmer than the gulf and momentarily thought I could take my kayak out in the bay. We returned home on the sidewalk. As we passed a paid parking lot, the attendant gave Gracie two milkbone cookies. (She would probably have prefered a drink of water!) As we walked in front of the DiamondHead Beach Resort, Gracie just laid down. In the shade, and panted.... and panted. Poor thing - I guess she was tuckered out. (This was a longer walk than we normally take). So I stood along the walk, while she rested.

We couldn't get in the house fast enough. Ahh. Air conditioning! Water! Gracie raced to her water dish and I juiced some lemons. I'd been thinking about a tall glass of fresh lemonade for the past thirty minutes or so!

I have a long list of things that I need to and want to accomplish today and tomorrow. I have the usual laundry, dishes, cleaning stuff, I have several new books (oh! That reminds me to get to the library before 1:00 today!) that I ordered from Amazon that arrived this week. My garden could use some attention (although the lillies are blooming! How delightful!). And somewhere in here and there I need to buy a camera.

Have a wonderful Saturday, and glorious weekend!

AK: Preliminary Plans

2009-05-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

My dear friends who may read this and many subsequent posts will find many entries documenting my upcoming Alaskan vacation. I'll try not to bore you.

You've heard of the bucket list. I have had one, but not in the morbid sense. Ever since I can remember I 've had a few things on my radar that I want to accomplish in this lifetime. Visiting Alaska is one of them.
I am fascinated by the Eskimo, the Inuit, as well as the Russian culture. [ I visited USSR in March 1975]. In the seventies when I was doing everything but reading, I fervently read a book called "Going to Extremes." I watched National Geographic documentaries on Alaska. I loved many of the movies "Call of the Wild" or that great movie with Anthony Hopkins , "The Edge" I love this stuff!

I've booked the flight from Regional Southwest to Fairbanks.... a 13 or 14 hour flight. Next morning, train from Fairbanks to Denali. Normally, the train would take me to the park entrance to get the bus to the backcountry lodge. But because I will have extra luggage (because of a cruise we'll discuss in a bit!) I need to leave the extra luggage at the Denali Cabins, which seem to be 8 miles south from the train station at the park entrance. A sweet speaking young woman named Crystal told me that their courtesy van would take me from the train station to the Denali Cabins to store my extra luggage. A good thing.

Then I'll get on the Denali Backcountry Lodge motorcoach from the park entrance to the backcountry lodge: an estimated 6 hour trip. [ i'm sure that includes potty breaks and photo opps]. We should get to the lodge around 8 PM: there's still 4 more hours of daylight.

I have three nights at this lodge. How stinkin' awesome! Hiking, biking, fishing, sitting, reading...lots of way cool wilderness, no distractions time. Please visit: http://www.denalilodge.com/

Train to Anchorage: I have read that it is a picturesque delight! The Alaskan Railroad is said to be absolutely breathtaking. I'll roll into Achorage sometime Saturday evening, and stay at a comfortable hotel. I have booked a cruise departing the next day out of Seward: here's where there's a bit of a disconnect - at least for the present time.

Tomorrow I'll firm up some of my cruise arrangements -specifically the transfer from Anchorage to Seward.
I do still have to book flight from Vancouver to Fort Myers.
I've put in for the time off and the boss signed off!
I am so having the best summer vacation!!!

I DID IT!

2009-05-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight I did it. I really did it. Tonight I booked my alaskan vacation. It's perfect. I fly in to Fairblanks, train to Denali, 3 nites at the Denali backcountry lodge, then train to Anchorage. That's how much I've booked at this point. And that's all good. I can figure out the shore excrusions within the next two months. Denali backcountry lodge is the biggy for me. I"m so very excited about that: so excited, that I booked 3 nights - mucho denaro - , but how great it will be to be deep in the heart of this great wilderness... to be so isolated, so secluded, so in touch with nature!
Still, the trip is in reasonable dollars. My airfare from Regional South West (RSW) to Fairbanks came in at $500. not bad, trip insurance included).
OH. End of July, early August. I'm putting in for 2 weeks. It's going to be so stinkin' awesome!!
Tonight I did it. I really did it!!
[MIchelle is doin' the HAPPY DANCE!!]

Work in Progress

2009-05-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

I slipped into bed last night, early for me, with the intention to read. I found myself deep in sleep, when Gracie alerted me to someone at the door. I looked at my cell phone: it was 11:30 pm. Gracie ran to the door and I heard a key in the lock, and knew it was Lauren and bf coming home. I fell out of my room, half in my robe, and asked Lauren to take Gracie out. You come in and stir her up, you need to take her out, I said. I turned off my bed lamps and quickly fell back to sleep.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, Gracie reared up, alerted to some outside noise. I listened and paid attention, but didn't move (movement gives Gracie reason). She ran to the door, as the key was turned again. It was Lauren and Kevin, again, and it was 4:30 AM. I listened as they visited the kitchen and bathroom, and heard one of them take Gracie out. Good. I don't have to get up.
I woke feeling rested, in spite of the nite's disturbances. I made a conscious decision to make a conscious effort to make this a good day. I lay in bed half in and half out of consciousness, hitting the snooze on the alarm. I ran over the duties of the upcoming day. I had a list of "have to's"... and I absentmindedly priortized them as I lay in bed. I got up, showered, dressed and headed out to work.
The morning worked according to plan, systematically accomplishing the "to do's". I had an appointment with the boss right after lunch to go over my 2010 budget. It went WAY better than expected. Of course when we came to the travel and training line item, he said, "Good luck with that" and when I asked to add another position, he said, "how about we try, [this] first."
I was somewhat nervous/stressed about this budget session, but it went well. I had the ear of the boss in a way I'd not had in a year. He was sympathetic to my workload and lack of personnel. All in all, it went good.
I had some fresh strawberries that I cleaned last night, so I added a good shot of tequila with them in the blender, made some shrimp/jambalaya and watched jeopardy.
A good ending to a good day.

Happy Day!

2009-05-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

On weekends, I feel the need to spend as much time as I can with Gracie, to "make up" for the hours I'm at work. Sometimes I chuckle to myself and say, "She's a DOG!" Today would be different. After a gentle, lazy start to the day, I put on my white capris and azure blue tank top, using the hair clip I bought last july in Butchart Gardens (with blue pressed flowers against a white porcelain clip), and wearing the silver and blue chandelier earrings that Sarah brought back for me from Costa Rica. My feet slipped into white flip flops. I picked up the handmade straw bag I bought at the Shrimp Festival last March. Michelle's going shopping.

My premier destination was Beach Seafood for some large pink Gulf shrimp(yummy!). I put a small cooler in the back of my CR-V (weekends, with high traffic coming to the beach, it's near suicide to try and turn left out of Shrimp Boat Lane - I would buy the shrimp first, then head into Town. Beach Seafood always packs with ice, so the delicious pink shrimp will do well in the cooler). I bought 2 lbs. Will there be anything else? I hesitated, as I nearly drooled over the tuna, mahi, grouper, snow crab, king crab. I LOVE seafood... I was like a kid in a candy store. "NO, That'll do it, thanks."
Next stop was Petco. A few days ago, I met a nice young couple on the beach. They were from St. Louis, MO and were here on vacation. I had Gracie with me that evening, and she was the reason that we met. They have a Weimaraner, and "missed her" as she is kenneled while they vacation. Linda and Jason are their names, and they played with Gracie as we chatted. Their Weim is 6 yrs old, so I had a lot to glean from them. One recommendation was a toy called a "kong." This toy has been recommended to me for Gracie, before, but this time, Jason's recommendation came with the reason that Weim's need "work" - they need to be stimulated, and this toy can do that. So... off to Petco to get Gracie a "Kong". Of course, there's not just "A" KONG... there's small, medium , large, extra large, bone shaped, shoe shaped...ad nauseum. I bought one that a figured appropriate for Gracie, and bought several custom sacks of healthy dog treats. What a lucky dog.
Well! Looky here! Petco "just happens to be" in the same shopping plaza as DSW...the mecca of shoe shopping. Gracie has chewed several pairs of shoes...she loves the leather.... and , well... shoe shopping is medicinal. I bought two great pairs of shoes: one pair, a casual "Merrell" sandal, the other a real smart black wedge by Liz Clairborne. I'm so excited!
On to Total Wine, which "just so happens" to be next door to DSW. I bought 2 bottles of red and 2 bottles of white. It's great fun reading all the descriptions, the "choices" the samplings. Again, somewhat like a kid in a candy store.
I decided to stop at Publix on the way home. "never grocery shop on an empty stomach". I know that very well, yet today I disobeyed. Everything looked really, really good. I bought a car load. The majority of my purchases were fresh produce, so that's a good thing. Let's just hope that all this fresh stuff gets eaten, and not spoiled and tossed.
I pulled in to the driveway a few minutes before 5:00. Lauren's car was home, and her boyfriend's truck was here. La was just about to leave for work. The girls gave me a beautiful card, and a CD of Edith Piaf! Happy Mothers' Day!! to me!!
It's been a great day!

A lemonade day

2009-05-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

It is a very quiet morning. Like yesterday, I woke without a plan for the day. Yesterday became cleaning day. Gracie made some real messes so I went to Topps and bought some Resolve. While there, I picked up a huge bag of rice to put out for the postal workers' food drive. I also bought a dozen fresh lemons. I squeezed the lemons and made a gallon of delicious lemonade. I shampooed the carpets, conditioned the leather furniture, washed the kitchen floor, cleaned out the refrigerator, did laundry, pruned my rosebushes and repotted some plants. After a hot shower, I sat down with a crisp glass of white bordeaux and salmon and cream cheese and crackers. I then spent several hours at various cruise websites, looking for my Alaskan cruise.
Today is Mothers Day. This is the first mothers day without my mother. My brother and his wife left yesterday for Ireland for two weeks. My youngest brother will probably go to the cemetery and think that I should be there, too. A few weeks ago, I mentioned to my daughters that I would like to rent a pontoon boat out of Fishtale marina and spend the day on the water with the daughters and dogs. Both daughters work today, however, so I guess that's a plan that won't happen.
It's a beautiful beach day. Perhaps I'll make more lemonade and bask in the warm Florida sun.

Can't get the message

2009-05-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

I had some very strong dream images that have lingered with me throughout today. Dream experts recommend keeping a dream diary - I've done it at times, not keeping one for a very long time, and not keeping one at this time. I suppose I should begin - again - with more discipline. I have been dreaming a great deal lately, with a great deal of symbolism. The spirit guides, my subconscious mind, the ethers or the "all" ...are trying to tell me something. I suppose if I were keeping a dream diary, last night's dream images would probably be better retained.
I dreamt I was at school - a college or university, i think. I was studying a manual, or workbook of sorts. I had missed the exam, and was cramming with anxiety, and began searching for the professor to plead my case for a make-up. I walked the crowded halls, found myself outside on the steps. I continued down to the lawn, to see my youngest brother's car parked on the grass. I walked to the car, looked inside to see it was empty, and was puzzled by its presence.
I was handed a newspaper, and was asked to read. I opened the page to a series of advertisements of second hand automobiles for sale. My listening audience consisted of the person (unknown in the waking state) who had given me the newspaper, and my two daughters. I read the headers of the ads, which were in a sort of cryptic code or icons.

That is the extent of what i remember. I puzzled over those images all day, to now, with no real grasp to its meaning. School, tests, teachers, automobiles, newspapers... all powerful dream images.. There's some message I'm suppose to get.....

The Time has Come

2009-05-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

I woke at 5:45 this morning, took Gracie out for "bizniss" and crawled back in to bed, awaiting the 7:00 alarm. I lay in bed watching the morning sun slit through the window shears, listening to the cardinals and`mockingbirds chorus. I checked my Blackberry and saw an e-mail from one of my councilmembers, sent at 1:20 AM. It was a heads-up on something that was happening first thing this morning, so it was sort of a mixed blessing: I was wondering why I am 'plugged in' 24/7, but grateful to have the opportunity to get a jump on something. I sent a few e-mails, passing along the 'heads-up' as I lay in bed. I put down the phone. I felt well rested, I had a good weekend, my spring flu had disipated to almost nothing. I felt good. Yet I had this unavoidable feeling of dread. I dreaded going in to work, but for no particular reason. What would I like to do, instead, I asked myself. I thought of a number of things, none of which could provide me with my need for health insurance and a regular, reasonable income. Okay, I responded, what is it about your job that you DO like, or that you could change to make it pleasant? I hit a brick wall, a dead end.

I eased out of bed, into the shower and began my morning routine. I knew I had a council meeting at 9:00 AM sharp, with an added duty (courtesy of the 1 am e-mail) that would begin at 8:15. " It will be what you make it" I told myself, as I tried to map my day as I wished it to be, as I appreciated the goodness in my life. I enjoyed the yogurt and bananas breakfast, the warm, stimulating shower. I dressed in a black pencil skirt with a great lace top and cute black sandals. The weekend at the beach gave my bare legs, arms and face a nice golden glow. I felt good. I felt I looked good.

I pedaled up on my new pink beach cruiser, perfect timing to be greeted by the Principal of the Beach Elementary School and twenty or so fifth-graders. This was the Youth Council, my 'added duty'. My councilmember said, "Well! You all get to meet your first Town Staff member!" So I rallied: "HI! I'm Michelle Mayher, your Town Clerk! I'm SO EXCITED to have you all join us today!" I was taken aback by one young student that actually clapped, jumped and shouted, "yay!!" (she was happy to meet me?!!?)

The meeting, the morning and the balance of my work day went well. I did not work late (rare for me) and was home by 5:15. Feeling full from a late lunch, I decided that Gracie and I both needed a good brisk walk. I changed, gathered my cell phone, a bottle of water and poop bags and leashed Gracie and headed out. She LOVES to go 'walking'. There are some issues going on on this island that make it difficult for me to separate Michelle resident from Michelle clerk. It pisses me off. I have to go out of my way to avoid "the perception" of town staff interference. I'm just out walking my dog, but run in to "issues". Gracie and I take a good 2-3 mile walk, but nearly every step of the way I'm met with "issues"; reasons to make me say to myself, "I've been on this island too long" "I need a change" " need something else."

"The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things:Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--Of cabbages--and kings--And why the sea is boiling hot--And whether pigs have wings."

Bit of a Ramble

2009-05-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

"Life is a Page Turner."

"Nothing is Worth More than this Day."

"Life is a Journey, not a Destination."

These are some of the sayings engraved in plaques and jewelry being sold in some of the catalogues I receive in the mail. This smacks in the face of reality in relation to my previous post. I spent yesterday and today pretty much by myself. My younger daughter is home from college for the summer, and she and her boyfriend have been here - in and out - occasional conversations that consisted mostly of brief answers to my intermittent questions. I spent time on the beach, both Saturday for several hours and today a morning walk and late afternoon walk. As always, these afforded brief conversations with passers-by. Aside from Gracie, I have spent the weekend within myself.

I feel somewhat pressured to 'take a vacation' - to take time for myself. We Sagittarians are the zodiacs' adventurers. The other morning, pedaling to work, I passed a man I'd worked with 12 years ago. At the time he was struggling to keep a job - now, I see him frequently being fed and cared for at "God's Table", the local chapel's program for the underpriveleged. "I've been on this island too long" I said to myself.

As I sat on the beach yesterday, I casually asked myself how I could live anywhere other than the warm beaches of south Florida.

As I sat on the beach, I watched couples. I watched couples of all shapes, sizes and ages. It's been a really long time since I've been part of "a couple." Even when I 'technically' was, I wasn't. For so many years, my husband was living somewhat of a double life: carrying on an affair for nearly three years, while carrying on his role as my spouse. I think I would have to go back to 2000... or before....

I've been divorced three and a half years. I watch couples and I wonder. How do they do it? As I watch couples and wonder how they do it, see them strolling the beach holding hands, I wonder: are they so happy together? are they in a new relationship? ..are they trying to save a failing relationship? I see myself sitting alone on the beach. I am beginning to yearn.

As I type this, I am watching a special on Yellowstone National Park. I happened to catch a piece on the hardships of winter and early spring. Footage shows a thawing, raging river. The narrator says, "For the young bison, it's a daunting task; but for those who survive, there are rewards ahead."

I know this has been a bit of a ramble, but it typifies my state of mind. I woke this morning from a dream of having been in an antique shop. I was looking over the merchandise, I was with loved ones, although I can't say now who they were. Of note, in the shop, I picked up two items that I here, now, have trouble describing. They were swords. One experienced in swords would know what they are called, I do not. The swords had the handles and then a circular 'cuff' that protected the handle and then proceeded to the blade. It was pointed out to me, (in the dream) and I was very aware that these two swords were Sterling Silver, and stamped as such. In my waking state and considering this dream image, it brings me to thinking of the Ace of Swords, in the Tarot deck. This represents the power of a directed mind, indicating an ability to center one's conscious mind.

Life and Time

2009-05-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I began filling out "requests for leave" slips. I have a few dentist appointments coming up, so I put in for sick leave. I also knew I wanted to attend a Mass for a recently deceased friend that was scheduled for this morning, so I began to submit a request for four hours' personal time. That prompted me to question my personal time: in addition to sick and vacation time, we are given 8 hours' birthday time and 8 hours' personal time. A few years ago, the personnel policy was changed to require personal and b'day time to be taken by the end of the fiscal year (or lose it). My birthday is the end of November, and I usually take my b'day and personal day together, around Thanksgiving. However, when the policy changed, I missed taking my time by the end of the fiscal year...so last November (2008) I don't know whether I took my FY 08 or FY 09 days.... So I checked with our accounting coordinator... she would have to look it up... by the way, I asked, can you please give me a tally of my accrued sick and vacation time....? She was quick to oblige... I had 250 hours of vacation time.... the new policy also says, any time in excess of 240 hours is lost at the end of the fiscal year. What the heck, I said... so I put in for 8 hours' vacation time for today (it seemed silly to return to work on a Friday afternoon, anyway).

I had a nice chat with our finance director (who also handles HR). She's a very smart, very kind woman. She told me my priorties are all wrong. At the end of the day, she said, all of this work will still be here. If you get hit by a bus tomorrow someone else will come in and do your job. You need to put Michelle first. I surprised myself at how her comments brought me close to tears. Was it so obvious?! You only live once, she said. Do you really want to be on your deathbed, saying, 'I should have taken that vacation!' ?

This morning I attended a Mass of Christian burial for a woman who was 38 years old. She was killed in an auto accident. She had no spouse or children, but left a very close-knit family and a large network of friends. So sad. The irony, or incongruity came to light as I sat in the church, listening to the pastor talk about death of the body and birth of the soul. How our faith gives us birth to a new life. I heard the words, "you only live once." I heard the words, "everyone wants to go to Heaven, but noone wants to die." My mind said, "I want to die" before I had a chance to grab that thought and contain it. I am happy in my life, yet I know that there is happiness in the 'after' life. My mind wandered from the pastor's sermon. At 54, how have I lived this life? What lies ahead for me? Am I making the best use of this life I've been given?

God is a Rose

2009-04-27T19:58:00.001-07:00

i made reference earlier, that I thought God was a Rose. It reminded me of a couple of songs. One I learned in high school chorus: "God is Love. And he who, abides in Love, abides in God. and God in him." Then I am reminded of another song: "Love is a rose, but you'd better not pick it, only grows if its on the vine.."
So for me to say, I believe that God is a Rose is a culmination of those thoughts: God is a Rose.

Great line from an old B&W

2009-04-27T19:47:00.001-07:00

Nice lipstick, Baby, but you're wasting it on the wrong guy."

2009-04-26T10:39:00.001-07:00

This is a test - I am setting up blog posts via my Storm..
Let's see if it works!

I love garlic

2009-04-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

Do you ever eat garlic? Roasted Garlic is a wonderful appetizer, it's economical and health-beneficial.
Take a bulb of garlic and trim enough off the top to expose each clove. Drizzle the exposed top with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in a hot oven. I use my toaster oven and it's the best method... toaster oven at 450 degrees for roughly 30 minutes. If you are cooking any other food item that uses a hot oven, add the prepared garlic bulbs then ( i surely wouldn't heat a whole oven just for the appetizer).
Crudite's, crackers, toasted or fresh hard bread work beautifully as a vehicle to bring the tasty roasted cloves (now like a spread) to your lips. Blue cheese is a great addition.
Yummy. and good for your heart.

A Favorable Day

2009-04-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

I felt alive again today for the first time in more than several days. Walking down the stairs from the office yesterday afternoon I was overheard muttering, "..i feel like dead man walking.." This morning walking up the stairs, I could be heard expressing " ..I'm reborn!". Oh the respiratory 'crud' lingers, but barely..I have overcome.

We had a staff meeting at 9:30, and I 'just happened to have in my bag" a very large bar of Lindt Very Dark Chocolate to share with staff, so I broke it into pieces, slipped open the paper wrapper and peeled back the foil lining. I felt a little like I'd had the golden ticket. I began my day in favor.

Some of my peers sought my advice, others offered services; I was complimented on my work and on my appearance. (Dang! I should call in sick more often!!) Absence makes the heart grow fonder!!?

I had a call from a friend who works in the County Commissioners' office. She gave me a tip that brought me pretty close to hero status. tah * dah * ! Friends are good!

I walked out the door to come home for lunch, and the second I stepped outside, I exclaimed at the beauty of the day! The air carried a cool and steady breeze. Not a single cloud in the bright blue sky. I was in blue jeans and a 3/4 sleeved sweater, and I was perfectly comfortable. The weather is perfect, I thought. It reminded me of November 2005 when I spent a week in Santa Monica. I was absolutely amazed at the temperate climate. Today was like a California day- only better.

After work I took Gracie for a brisk walk on the beach. It was low tide with an onshore breeze. Most of the 'yanks' have gone home, so the island is coming back to us islanders.

The A/C is off, and it's a pleasant 74 degrees inside. What a wonderful place to be right now.

I may whip up a little chicken parm w/ pasta and a fine chianti.

ciao.

Blessings

2009-04-19T17:31:00.001-07:00

The weekend is winding down. It has been one of effort- effort to rally in the face of fever and respiratory infection. My Sarah came through and took Gracie to doggie beach with her Ruca, and Kelly and her dog Lola. Gracie sure needed it! Now she is laid out on the couch. I haven't seen her this docile since probably the last time she went with the "girls" to dog beach.

I have a kettle of sweet florida onions simmering on the stove. French onion soup for dinner. I bought a baguette and some guyere, a dry white wine and some cognac. Both the wine and cognac will go in to the recipe, but the cognac works wonders on the knife-in-the-throat and the dizzy head. Hennessy. Sure feels good. (here's the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/french-onion-soup-recipe/index.html

I am looking at a sumptuous bouquet of fresh flowers from my garden. It makes me so happy, so proud. There is also a vase of pink and white roses in my bedroom, a small vase of yellow roses in the bathroom and a solitairy rose bud on the kitchen table. I sure am blessed.

I did a boat-load of laundry today. Everything from clothes to sheets and towels, rugs and drapes. I also put the A/C on a few minutes ago: I'll probably end up opening up in the pre-dawn, but for now, 87 degrees inside is uncomfortable, and I deserve comfort.

I sure am blessed.

Dog Beach Aborted

2009-04-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

I felt I owed it to Gracie to take her somewhere to play. Yesterday, Sarah stopped by and said, "Maybe we'll take Gracie to doggie beach tomorrow." Early this morning I sent Sare a text asking if she was taking (her dog) Ruca to doggie beach. She didn't respond. After a few hours of taking care of (afore mentioned) business, I decided to take Gracie to doggie beach without the other girls. My car already contains a puppy go pack (water, dish, dog food, treats, puppy-poop-bags, rabies papers, etc.) so I grabbed my beach bag (sunscreen, visor, towel, lip balm), added wallet, cell phone (in new water-proof case!) added a folding chair and cooler and headed to doggie beach.

When I arrived on black island, i could see right away that dog beach was busy. I winced, knowing this may be difficult. If Sarah and Ruca were here, Gracie would follow Ruca everywhere she went, and Ruca would listen to Sarah. Gracie is ....out of control. Pulling in to park, Gracie was so excited at the sight of all the other dogs, the smell of the beach and the recognition of 'doggie beach.' She darted from window to window in the few brief moments it took me to park and turn off the vehicle. I opened the hatch on my CR-V, and Gracie instantaneously bounded out. (I cursed). She ran. She ran from car to dog to car ...all within less than ten feet from the highway. She wanted nothing to do with responding to my call. Fortunately for me, one vehicle that had just pulled in was driven by a woman with two (or three?) young girls who were outside their van and immediately came to my aid, by calling, offering "cookies". After several minutes of "puppy gone wild", one of the young girls was able to grab Gracie's collar. I was right there with the leash, and ever so grateful to them.

With backpack, chair, cooler and "pup-gone-wild", I walked into the "off-leash" area. There were dogs everywhere. Gracie was NUTS. All the other dogs listen to their owners. Gracie has alot to learn, and so I kept her leashed. My intention was to walk to the farthest part of the beach (so she wouldn't be close to the parking lot, where she'd follow every and any dog to the car, and, ultimately, the road). Once established, my plan was to acclimate Gracie to me and where I was, and then 'ease her in' to be leash-less.

As I approached the beach and scoped out the location, I headed toward the farthest section destination. There were dogs of all sizes ages and supervision. I was determined to follow my plan of setting up my chair before unleasing Gracie (how else would I stand a chance of getting her to retun to me?). Encumbered by a packpack, a chair and cooler, I had my work cut out for me controlling Gracie when this very large 'pit-bull - ish' looking dog approached. I let the dogs "sniff." Other dog was loose, but I kept Gracie leashed. They hugged, sniffed, romped, tangled in the leash. As I tried to continue on to my destination, this other dog mounted Gracie and would not stop. I pushed him away with my foot, and he was undeterred. I pulled Gracie away to no avail. Finally, I pulled Gracie in the direction of the folks from which this other dog came. To no one in particular, I called, "Is this your dog?" A couple responded, and I asked, "can you please get him?" and they did.

I walked on to where I intended to set my chair. Other dogs romped about, came by, sniffed, and moved on. I stood there by the waters' edge, assessing, catching my breath. Trying to figure out if this really was a good idea. Just as I was deliberating, DOG came back. He mounted Gracie with his manlyhood clearly visible. (Gracie is just 8 months, and not yet fixed, has not yet had a heat). I either said criminy or something stronger. As I was trying to figure out how to deal with this, the female member of the couple-owner came by and grabbed DOG. In my Kermit Frog voice I made some apologies which she either couldn't hear or didn't want to hear.

This clearly was not working. Gracie was far too young to be in such a busy dog beach. I guess she needs a "puppy pen." I never set up my chair. I picked up my stuff and headed back to the parking lot. Walking back, I came across the woman and her girls that helped corral Gracie in the parking lot. They had 5 or so dogs - all the same kind - like Corgies or such. "Leaving already?" the woman asked. I explained. They were very kind.

Walking back to the car, a couple coming the other way asked, "is that a weimaraner?... She's beautiful!" at which point, she barfed her lunch. I had to explain that Garcie's so excited, she literally chokes herself on her collar. (this pup walks on her hind legs like a circus animal..being held upright by my hand as she tuggs at the end of her leash).

Returning to the car, I quickly clipped Gracie to the hook in the tailgate, being sure she couldn't jump out. I took her (Tony the Tiger) dish out of my pack, some ice from the coooler and water from the jug. She lapped up two bowls full. As she was lapping, I was amused to see the van that was driven by the woman with the girls that came to my aid: they had stickers that said things like, "WOOF" and other dog-related items. (I wanted to put a thank you note on the van).

Driving home, I was disappointed. I analyzed what went wrong, what I could have done differently. Maybe Gracie is just too young. After all, toddlers don't play with the big kids on the soccer fields. Perhaps if I had knelt down with Gracie when "DOG" approached I could have made the encounter friendlier. I have to figure out a way to give this pup her due exercise. She's a beautiful animal - Gracie is a perfect name (if I don't say so myself!) as she is very sleek and graceful. Her anatomy is outstanding. But she is young, and needs vigorous exercise to maintain that sleek, superb muscle development.

There is a dog park in east fort myers in Buckingham. I hear it's quite nice. I hear it's fenced. Maybe tomorrow we can take a road trip all in the interest of getting Gracie some run time.

Birds and other Words

2009-04-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday AM, the air is cooler out than in. I shut off the A/C and opened my bedroom window. I popped the thermometer in my mouth and set the timer on my phone. 3 minutes and no fever. My throat felt like it had a knife lodged in it. I lay in bed listening to the cardinals and the mockingbirds. I believe that God is a bird. (I also believe that God is a rose). Their song is so pure, so genuine and brings unending comfort. I fiddled with my BB, answered a few e-mails from the town attorney about pressing business that I missed at work yesterday and need to face first thing monday. Then she asked me why I was working today. I responded that I might ask the same of her. I began coughing intermittently which managed to break up the pressure in my chest. (The elephant may now only be cow). Gracie was impatient with my laziness, so I got up, threw some clothes on and took her out.

What a beautiful day! The ususal neighbors were doing their morning rituals. I put Gracie on the line and began to check on the seedlings I'd sown recently for basil, alyssum and love lies bleeding (amaranthus - which I bought at Butchart Gardens last year). They are doing well. I gave them a good shot from the spray bottle. It seemed a good time to water, starting with the bougainvillea, then the mexican petunia, plumbago, the palms, the franigpanis and the rose bushes. I brought Gracie inside, and put a pot of water on the stove to boil. (still under a boil water notice). I picked up my cell phone and noticed a missed call. (s*&t...from the boss).

I immediately called him back. He'd gotten a call from a councilmember: the boil water notice dropped off the website - it needs to be up there - the media is instructing everyone to watch the web. Yes indeedy, boss - right away.

I fed Gracie, gave her water and fixed myself a cup of hot water with lemon and honey - oh that felt good on the throat! and sat down to update the web. Gracie began ripping apart the door jam, wanting to go out. I cursed - we've just been out!! She kept it up, and managed to totally guilt me. She's just eaten, maybe she does need to do 'bizniss'. All patience lost, I put her on the line and came back in.

As I was updating the web, my phone rang. It was the deputy public works director, did I get the boss's message? could I do the update, or did we need to call in one of her staff members?
I'm all over it, give me a few minutes. Then I heard rapid footsteps on the stairs out front, and then a knock on the door. I opened it and it was Lucky's "mom" next door: "Your 'daughter' broke her line again.." I cursed, thanked her and hastened out to the side yard. Gracie was all over Lucky (a 100+ lb Rott) and had managed to completely pull down the 100' line that Brother Ken installed. She'd done it, now... I 'reeled' her in, thanked Nicole again, and brought Gracie inside.

Back at the computer, I finished the update. My cell rang again. (I cursed). Looks like you've performed magic.. Deputy Director said. (dang, were they watching me like a hawk!?!) I called the boss, told him we were good, explained what went wrong. I fixed another cup of lemon and honey tea. My chest is loosening up quite nicely and although I sound worse than Kermit, my throat is easing as well.

The little birds are singing, merrily and well to the delight of 'Shell, and all her tinkling bells.
( Oh if only I could write like Lewis Carroll !)

Little Birds

Little Birds are dining
Warily and well,
Hid in mossy cell
Hid, I say, by waiters
Gorgeous in their gaiters -I've a Tale to tell.

Little Birds are feeding
Justices with jam,
Rich in frizzled ham
Rich, I say, in oysters
Haunting shady cloisters -
That is what I am.

Little Birds are teaching
Tigresses to smile,
Innocent of guile
Smile, I say, not smirkle -Mouth a semicircle,
That's the proper style!

Little Birds are sleeping
All among the pins,
Where the loser wins
Where, I say, he sneezes,
When and how he pleases -So the Tale begins.

Little Birds are writing
Interesting books,
To be read by cooks
Read, I say, not roasted -Letterpress, when toasted,
Loses its good looks.

Little Birds are playing
Bagpipes on the shore,
Where the tourists snore
"Thanks!" they cry. "'Tis thrilling!
Take, oh take this shilling!
Let us have no more!"

Little Birds are bathing
Crocodiles in cream,
Like a happy dream
Like, but not so lasting -Crocodiles, when fasting,
Are not all they seem!

Little Birds are choking
Baronets with bun,
Taught to fire a gun
Taught, I say, to splinter
Salmon in the winter -Merely for the fun.

Little Birds are hiding
Crimes in carpet-bags,
Blessed by happy stags
Blessed, I say, though beaten -Since our friends are eaten
When the memory flags.

Little Birds are tasting
Gratitude and gold,
Pale with sudden cold
Pale, I say, and wrinkled -When the bells have tinkled,
And the Tale is told.

Lewis Carroll

Island life

2009-04-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

A fast and furious week. Saturday found me at the beach with family - brother from the East coast with his kids. Neighbors gathered for sunset, then we headed up to my other brother's house for a lite supper of burgers and fries. I got home around 11:00 PM and began marinating two 7 lb. legs of lamb, peeling 10 lbs of spuds, etc. Sunday morning had me crawling out of bed as early as I could to get the food in the oven, steam the green beans, customizing a box and disposable serving dishes, and finishing the strawberry cream cake to take for my dinner.

We had a miscommunication. No one was home at my friends' house, no one was at her store (understandable on Easter) and no one answered cell phones. I returned home, put the food in the fridge, and headed out to my dinner at my brother's. It was a great day. NJ and MA are terrific hosts. I got home around 8 PM and called my friends again. Still no contact. I divided the food and gave half to Sarah and half to Lauren. They of course were thrilled. I felt badly that we miscommunicated.

Monday was a rough day at work. I was admittedly grumpy. Maybe too much weekend and/or not enough of my own personal quiet time. On Saturday at the beach my BB Storm got wet - it worked, but not properly. Fortunately, I had insurance. Called and made the claim. $50 deductable. (ouch).

Tax day loomed like a very dark cloud. Monday night I sat down and pulled out all the papers. Of course Gracie was fit to be tied: She'd been "home alone" much of the weekend, and of course all day Monday while at work. Now, here I was on the computer and she wanted to play. After several hours, when all was said and done, I was relieved - almost thrilled. I anticipated having to pay hugely. Instead, I get $1100. returned. Phew....

Tuesday and Wednesday were rather innocuous, except for the expected irritation that goes with my job. Wednesday evening, I was pleased with myself for having filed my taxes (with a return!) and managed to overcome the hurdles my elected officials unwittingly threw my way.
With those haunting tasks behind me, I jumped in and washed dishes ( i hate washing dishes and don't have a dishwasher - but really, Michelle - enough is enough!). With a sparklingly clean kitchen, I jumped in the shower for a long hot shampoo and shower. I gave myself a home foot soaking pedicure. It sure felt good.

At about 10:50 on Wednesday evening, my cell phone rang. (My cell phone rarely rings, particularly at this hour of the night). It was my boss. He was on his way up to the square. We'd had a massive water main break, and had to shut down the water distribution system island-wide. Would I call the media. (This is difficult because I am reporting without first-hand information). Within 30 minutes, the media had a reporter and camera crew in the square and had the boss on the 11:00 news. (I sure was glad I got the replacement cell phone or I'd've been in big trouble). Nearly 2 hours later, I crawled in to bed.

Thursday morning began with my cell phone ringing at about 5:30 am. It was the public works director. Would I call the beach school, would I call the health department, would I update the website with the boil water notice. The race was on. I threw on some clothes and brushed my teeth with bottled water. Boy was I glad I'd washed dishes and showered the night before!

I got in to the office and updated the phone message, the website, ordered portalets for town hall and put the TV on in my office. The local NBC affiliate was all over the story. In emergency situations, my job description changes, to inlcude stroking the boss's ego: "you looked good on Tv" "Good Job." I usually take lunch at 1:00 PM, so I left the office and went over to the local supermaket and picked up a couple of frozen dinners and several gallons of bottled water. At about 2:30 I sent a message saying I would not be returning that afternoon. I felt like I was running a fever. I closed the drapes, unfolded the quilt, propped up my feet and closed my eyes. Gracie wasn't compassionate, to say the least. She demanded attention.

About 9:00 in the evening i crawled into bed with a book by Deepak Chopra, a bottle of evian and a thermometer. I had a low-grade fever of 100. I read for awhile and then shut the lights. Gracie got up and peed the rug at about 3:30 in the morning (GRRRR....). I cleaned and deodorized, cursed and growled and went back to bed. As morning came and the sun rose, I took my temperature again. Still a fever. I called in sick.

My chest feels like an elephant is sitting on it. Several co-workers have had this "crud" for some time now. I guess it's my turn. Pisses me off, because I've been very healthy. I HATE being sick. This crud better be gone when I open my eyes tomorrow morning.

I look forward to some time when I can write creatively, when I can devote time to things I love, when I can enjoy spring in southwest florida, take my dog for a long walk, take my kayak out... Live!

It's been a rough week... I hope yours has been better...

Mares eat oats and Does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy.

2009-04-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

There is a retired couple that have become friends of mine through association with my work. He served on an advisory committee that I staffed. She opened a florist shop here on the island and helped me out with centerpieces for a Clerks' event that I was in charge of last summer. He has been battling cancer for a couple of years now. When I saw them at Gretchen's Christmas party, he looked pretty good - sitting down. When it was time to go, he could barely walk even with assistance. He was in hospice care until they sent him home a couple of weeks ago. When asked what we could do to help, she asked for dinners three nites a week. There's a great group of people on this island, and friends quickly jumped in to bring meals and handle other light duties. Last week I offered to bring Easter dinner, and she graciously accepted. Thursday he went back in to hospice. His daughter is here as well as other family members.

Last night I poured through cookbooks. Easter dinner for six. I don't eat ham or lamb and my preferred Easter dinner is salmon. In talking to a friend, I mentioned my deliberation over menus, and she said, "Ham. Just put a ham in the oven. It's easy and they can make sandwiches after." I labored over putting together a delicious, yet healthy menu around ham. Finally I sought the opinion of my daughter Lauren. "Mmmm. Lamb. with mint jelly. I've been craving lamb. We haven't had that in a long time. Make lamb. Make lamb for ME!"

This morning I went to the market and bought two 7 pound legs of lamb, 10 pounds of potatoes, 2 pounds of green beans, plenty of salad stuff, (including spinach and feta cheese), ..and mint jelly. There's a greek restaurant here on the beach that has delicious greek food. I worked there the first couple of years I lived on the beach. (that was in the early 1980's). Manny still owns it. He taught me how to make spanikopita (spinach pie) and baklava. So I called him last night and he told me how to make the lamb and potatoes. I will make full course dinner for my friends and deliver it to their home tomorrow. Lauren will have a leg of lamb (with mint jelly!) and a whole lot of potatoes to take back to school with her. I will also make some tzatziki sauce (Manny taught me that, too). I suggested making lemon rice, and Lauren quickly responded, "No. no rice. That's all I've been eating all week." (oh, the trials of the college kid...) I am having Easter dinner with my brother and his wife, and am bringing desert. I will make a Strawberry Cream Cake - it's very light and not too sweet with fresh strawberries. It'll be perfect.

a pet peeve

2009-04-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

i am bothered by the preponderance of advertising by pharmaceutical drug manufacturers on the national evening news. This has bothered me for quite some time. Initially, my immediate response was to stop watching the national evening news. What you focus on, you attract. Lately, perhaps out of boredom or lack of compelling reading material, I have occasionally switched on the nightly news. I prefer NBC with Brian Williams. (I'm still intrigued by the white outlining around his eyes - how does he do that?!?) Every commercial - or at least a good 95% of them, are by drug companies. The ad beats the viewer up with all the suggested data: you could be a candidate for a heart attack, a stroke, bone loss, brain tumors. "Ask your Doctor what.... [blank] can do for you" Side affects may include: criminy. a whole laundry list from dizziness to an erection lasting over four hours. God forbid I should ever have an erection that lasts four hours. It begs the question: why do they have so much stinkin' money in these "economically hard times"?

Such Things

2009-04-05T18:44:00.001-07:00

Whales in Water, Witches on the Walk
Babies Dying, Secretive Talk.
Shrimp in the Shrub,
Bodies Reborn
Everyone gathers to hear Doves that Mourn.

Cakes, times two,
One says , " I Love You"
An Opinion surmised, a demon exorcised.

These are the things
Appearing in my dreams

The Fruits of My Labors or, Welcome to My Garden

2009-04-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

JADE

FRANGIPANI

SOON2B LEMON TREES

CROWN OF THORNS

DAY LILIES

CHRYSLER IMPERIAL (red) and JOHN F KENNEDY(white) ( in Carnival Glass Vase)

PONYTAIL PALM (tho' not really a palm)