Chiming in...

Here is the refurbished blue moon and wind chime in our northern facing front of the house, side by side, nestled between the palms and off to the left of, if facing towards our home's big picture window.

 Below that is the trinity of backyard sun room window bird crashing protective chimes! Prior to that birds were dying in droves! I had Googled what to do, and the ideas were from leaving the windows dirty to these much more pleasant wind chimes. Although, some on a windy day, might not care for their constant chiming! To them I say, close your windows, its nearly one hundred degrees out there, so turn up your air...conditioning!

 

Behind the chimes you may have noticed our window coverings, post Hurricane Charley circa 2004, any-who they are the fabric waffle cone type with strings to pull them up and down, and at the time the five altogether seemed quite expensive to me, but the windows were odd sized and I had tried all over to get something on them. We even had the professionals tint them with the thought now we don't need any curtains... not true! It was a nifty privacy helper, we could see out and people could not see in, but the heat penetrated in spite of that! So we went with someone who could specially fit them to the windows and they cost us at the time back in 2004, $1600 for just five! The other day the cord broke on the one over the door to the patio, and I said, a quiet yay... thinking now we could replace them!( Now good for a few more years... yay!) But instead Hubby switched the one from the patio with the one door we never use next to the second bathroom. That door was put in with thoughts it would be handy for the pool to go in there and not traipse through the room dripping wet, never happened and was never used. Oh many might wonder why only one door to the patio, the original configuration was an enormous slider, simply put we needed the wall space for that desk you see there that it too has become nearly obsolete, since we use a laptop these days, more than the desk top PC, but the printer/scanner is there as well as the other scanner that we do not use, our printer had finally died last year.  

Shade up, shade down, the room is not crooked as seen above, not, just the photographer, me, I hold the phone/camera crooked for some unknown reason.

Unused door by second bathroom, now without a cord. It really doesn't matter since that door's glass has been replaced two times due to the lawn mower hitting it, and so there is no tinting on it at all, so way too bright! In fact only the second bathroom window and the three over sized windows below are still tinted, Hubby switched out the second door with the first plain glass when the first glass was broken, really should get them tinted again. Oddly enough with all the building of homes, even put in a pool, and docks and decking, renovations and crafts etc. window tinting is very hard! We did try to do it ourselves, but that darn stuff kept ripping, ha! No wonder people specialize in that, hmm? 

Our sun room is not enormous, just 10' wide and 19' long, and there is too much furniture in there!

That white futon full size sleeper sofa from Target, BTW, after the hurricane I turned the guest room into a sometime one with that, but when we decided to return it to a full-time guest room it came out and was placed across from our blue queen sofa bed one. the trunk with the decoupage fish of Florida Hubby and I made, the trunk was a gift from Number One's girlfriend at the time, and the interior painted all a lovely vivid blue, it was unpainted when we received it, and the design was my idea. 

Since this room is sort of a fish themed room. The awning type valances were my design too, to encompass a beachy outdoor/indoor concept, Hubby did the woodwork but I painted them, by using  Frog tape to help with the stripes, at the time Frog tape was a brand new idea for DIYers! 

Below is another return from Number One Son, one of two sections of a solid oak breakfront we had bought for our first home in Florida on the other coast, it has had a couple of incarnations besides half of an entertainment center, his brother was given the open shelve side, this was also used for our dinning room China closet, and now too or once again. Our China in this smaller retirement home, had been stored in our kitchen cabinets, but when we got it back it allowed for me to put so many of the little appliances away instead of leaving them cluttering on the kitchen counters and so the "good China", went back in there. I had wanted it to become a wine bar or to also paint it a new cheerful color or modernized it in some way, but I still haven't decided exactly what I want to do.

Anybody out there have any ideas? I had wanted to donate the futon couch, but Hubby said we should keep it. Right now in our tiny house we have enough room to sleep ten guests in an emergency as long as that emergency isn't here, because we will be out of here! Oh, the reason the trunk, which I also put caster wheels on them is along the wall not in between the two couches is because of my wheels needing a wider fairway. I, mean Hubby put the wheels on the trunks, but it was my idea, also on our nautical oak stained one in the guest room under the window like a seat.

The bookcase you see here in white Hubby made out of found wood in our formally outdoor laundry room shelves and he believes them to be mahogany. The bookcase was made right away, since we had moved the laundry indoors, access from the foyer and leads into the garage and had custom cabinets made in there too and was first in the foyer then the guestroom and lastly in here. I, I mean Hubby has to under my direction, need to at the very least rearrange this room. At least I have learned one very important thing over the years measure, measure, measure first! Where you want something and that things dimensions should be noted as well, extremely important, so if NOT possible to fit where you want it, no harm, no foul! Would love that cabinet to be a future project, with the too hot weather we will be hibernating like most due with too cold, again today in the nineties!  

 

Share those blessings and we will too! And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

 

This a conversation that I have been putting off...

...you know the one, the one where I really say what I have been thinking about all the shenanigans this administration thinks they are pulling on us, i.e. we the GREAT AMERICANS!
Truly it gives me the creeps just saying his name and so I don't.
I use euphemisms instead, Orange Frothy Haired Guy, Mr. T, President DJ is as close as I get to referring him the guy whom holds all our lives in our hands with one last TWEET!
Scary!
I know he can't do anything to me, since he seems to not to be able to do much of anything to anyone.
Have you noticed that?
I hope that it's not just another case of subterfuge, smoke and mirrors, but absolute the flaccid inability to erect any notable changes whether nay or yay in our government processes, in this game of thrones, his inability causing sterility of his selfish change thankfully, thy initials are "DJT", and that reference is the sterility of accomplishments, none, nada, zilch, not in our lifetimes!
Sure I can mean what I say and be mean all day long about this objectionable weighted doorstop of an oaf thinking he is the best, the most, the stupendous all knowing one! NAY!
My analogy to this wanna be king is that of the story of the Emperor's New Clothes:https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t&p=Emperor%27s+New+Clothes+original+story#id=2&vid=2d2e8dc99c6314beeea65e754a5cce6e&action=click or perhaps this newer more contemporary version of the story:https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t-s&p=emperor%27s+new+clothes+lyrics#id=2&vid=ad3a455fafb3afc783a4cbda2ee9b4c5&action=click, he so reminds me of that buffoon! OOPS, but more true to him!
So sorry, that was very disrespectful of the leader of our GREAT AMERICA!
But doesn't a person, any person have to earn that respect?
Oh he thought the job would be easy, and he is so surprised by every aspect of it, boohoo!
Really?
Over the last 100 days plus this person has had more days off than most anyone in a new job with considerably less responsibility to so many people as this one has!
Gosh, being the president is more like being a Mom, 24/7, without vacations, love, we have to earn it, and sometimes it can be thankless!
But we Moms are always there and never quit, and you know why?
I'll tell you why, BEACAUSE IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB THERE IS!
And since you sir, trying to be polite, have never been a MOTHER only know how to make them, you hire nannies so even the women you turn into mothers might not know, but it is darn hard work, and we do it for one reason and one reason only... for the LOVE of the JOB!
No kissing butts, no thank yous with everything we do, no picture ops counting how many times we do get those butterfly kisses or smacks on the cheeks or hugs or crowd pleasers, no countdowns to smiles that let you know that you might have gotten it right this time in front of their friends, no one keeping track of all those notes and bouquets of weeds, or how many kisses on their scraped knees to make their booboos feel better, no camera shots for those records, only hearts filled with the joy that you did everything right when they grow and they turn out oh so right, even if you may have dropped the ball a few times... all done without a net or any applause!
Moms and presidents do things because they want to take on the world to make it better without fanfare, but for the love of it all!

So MR. T, Pres. DJ, Orange Frothy Haired Guy, love what you do for the right reasons and know why you were chosen to do this, not for yourself alone, but for the rest of us as an all encompassing world! Be kind and rewind your game plan for the sake of all involved.       

Arbor Day!

"

Trees in Nebraska, after an ice storm, in the early 20th century. Vintage Images / Getty Images

Environment

"This Is Why Arbor Day Is a Thing

by Merrill Fabry

Nebraska was a largely treeless prairie region when, on April 10, 1872, it became the first state to celebrate Arbor Day by planting trees.

The celebration came a few months after J. Sterling Morton, a vice-president of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture, first proposed to the Board that the day be set aside for tree planting and that they should offer a "special premium" or prize for the county and for the person that planted the most trees on that day. The Board approved his resolution. Reportedly, there were more than a million trees planted in the state that first year.

Julius Sterling Morton had moved to the Nebraska Territory in the mid 1850s with his wife, Caroline Joy Morton, and while he worked as a newspaper editor and politician, they both soon became known for their love of trees. An 1885 Nebraska State Historical Society biography describes the greenery at their home, known as Arbor Lodge, as including, “Flowers and flowering shrubs, and vines and evergreens in great abundance... trees of ornament and fruit, hedges and vines and flowers."

Morton's reasons for promoting the idea of Nebraskans planting trees were many. He always kept the underlying economic importance of trees in mind, and Shaul E. Cohen, in his book Planting Nature, quotes Morton's reasoning for Arbor day as both a sentimental occasion for men to enrich themselves, and also an equalizing one since even the poorest landholder in the young state could plant a tree. ("The rain and sunshine and seasons will be his partners," Morton said, "just as genially and gently as they will be those of any millionaire.") And, as Nebraska's Governor explained in his Arbor Day proclamation of 1883 — though the details of how that worked weren't yet understood — it was held that planting trees could benefit the climate.

But Morton also believed that the beauty of trees was a reason unto itself: "To preserve beauty on the earth, beauty herself beseeches us to plant trees, and renew dead landscapes with the shadow and light of plant life flitting through the pendant limbs, the willowy boughs and the waving foliage of sturdy, yet graceful woods. Our ancestors planted orchards to fruit for us, and homes to give us shelter."

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Morton wasn't the only one promoting tree planting at the time, but his idea for Arbor Day was quickly adopted in Nebraska and other states, and publicized through newspapers. Soon schools held planting ceremonies and read relevant passages from poetry and literature to mark the day. Arbor Day became a legal holiday in Nebraska in 1885 (April 22nd, to honor Morton's birthday), and eventually expanded to the U.S. as a whole and even other countries. It's perhaps not the most famous holiday on the calendar, but 145 years later people are still celebrating it by planting trees.

In 1893, he was made Secretary of Agriculture by President Grover Cleveland, and a few years later the Government Printing Office published a manual on the history and observance of Arbor Day. The report included addresses on the importance and meaning of the occasion from notables, information on how best to plant trees and selected excerpts of poetry and literature about trees. Its author, Nathaniel Hillyer Egleston, noted that "from being only a humble expedient of one of out Western States a few years ago, [Arbor Day] has become a national holiday and one of our most important institutions." Egleston wrote that Arbor Day could not only teach students the importance of trees to the functioning of society, but also make them into "tree lovers. A tree sentiment will be created and established which will lead us to recognize and cherish the trees as friends."

In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt remarked on the occasion, which by then was an annual occurrence in every state, that "a people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as hopeless."

A century after the holiday was first celebrated, the Arbor Day Foundation was created to continue encouraging people to plant and love trees, and President Nixon proclaimed National Arbor Day. Now the last Friday in April is National Arbor Day, which is when most but not all states celebrate it. Variations are also celebrated with planting all over the world.

Morton, for one, might not be surprised that his idea has endured for so long. In 1887, in an Arbor Day address at the State University at Lincoln, Neb., he noted the why Arbor Day was unusual among holidays: "Each of those reposes upon the past, while Arbor Day proposes for the future. It contemplates, not the good and the beautiful of past generations, but it sketches, outlines, establishes the useful and the beautiful for the ages yet to come."

Thanks to: http://time.com/4754395/arbor-day-history/

I am sure that many of you with logical concerns of our world perhaps not being here much longer, due to the threat of war have mixed emotions about celebrating things such as socially, realistically and morally important as Arbor Day; but I bet that I am wrong, since I have been wrong before!
Any-who, today we went to our pre-registered designated place our local County Extension, 5.2 miles from our home, part of the University of Florida and where we have been many times before. We got our composter from there and our Crape Myrtle, and a few of our caladiums as well as they are the ones who brought us our mosquito fish. We could have bought rain barrels from them too, but we got ours at Home Depot and Lowe's, two one hundred and ten gallons for the both.
Anyway today they gave away a tree to each person who pre-registered and had received an email or had been at the Home and Garden Show last weekend and received/picked up the below flyer. Actually, we are on their emailing list and did receive an invite that way too!

We chose out of the three trees ,one was an oak and another was a pine variety we decided on the red maple due to their lovely colorful foliage and majestic eventual growth! Those two little guys are our red maples, a bit more than saplings and pretty healthy. Hubby placed them in the shade of the Gardenia bush after giving them both long drinks of water. They were placed with, as you can see, duck and frog as their protective sentinels, our temperatures have soared once again  into the upper nineties and it is still only spring!

I truly am concerned how summer is going to go, temperature wise.

Those two trees will hopefully soar too, but in height to a magnificent 60-75 feet tall spreading 25-35 feet with loving care through establishment, what a great shade tree!

All the years we have lived in Florida, thirty-one this coming August I never realized that Red Maples would thrive here, but apparently they will. Few trees are deciduous in our part of the country, with us being in a semi-tropical/tropical climate, zone ten. They really do better in zones 4A-9B, but as I said and they did too, once established they should be fine. They do well in all types of light and soils, and have moderate drought tolerance, but aerosol salt tolerance is low. And that is why we will be putting them eventually in the front west side property line where there is an empty lot next door.

After their film on planting and we had retrieved those two trees we went over to the Cracker Barrel for lunch. Hubby had an open faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese and spice apples; we both had iced water with lemons on the side. I had broiled lemon pepper trout with green beans and collard greens and a house salad with bleu cheese dressing on the side. I made up for Hubby's lack of desire for vegetables, nah, not really... but no use arguing, especially in public. Albeit I did remind him, with a smile that macaroni and cheese is not a vegetable!   

Upward and onward to Bed Bath and Beyond for a new battery broom, we were going to get their Shark one, but the last one, a floor model, was broken and there were no boxes full anywhere, it was their $69.99 model with a 20% off it was a deal so we thought. Instead Hubby fixated, as he played with the Black and Decker brand stick also, but had a hand held one that was attached to it and reacher attachment too! Hubby tested that component on its reach and yes he can touch even the ceiling, therefor many hard to reach places with it, and it has two reusable dust catching baskets with it as well. We had many Black and Decker products over the years, tools, including their hand held dusters, called the dust buster, if I recall correctly, so even though it was thirty dollars more at $99.99, but still with the 20% discount quite affordable, so we took it!

 

Share those blessings folks and we will too!

 

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear! 

Made healthy ziti for dinner tonight!

Although, I succumbed to  Hubby's charms and agreed for us to have his regular pasta, no whole grain/ wheat or veggie streamers for him, too much to make two kinds for just us and I recently received two curly cue implements to achieve that veggie pasta concept...I do get away with a healthier fair in the sauce and cheeses selections of the creation of a more heart healthy, lower sodium meal, albeit still not Kosher, due to leaner chopped beef meat served with cheese.

Just over a cup of ziti noodles, cup runneth over, so to speak of those type of dried pastas, or elbow works too, in fact I added a splash to them too!
See when cooking for just us two my measurements have gone by the wayside... truth be known that has been historically, usually always, my way of cooking.

Any-who, the pastas should be cooked in boiling water according to their packaging directions.
Meanwhile slice those onions, mushrooms, and garlic and sautéed them together in a sprayed PAM pot with a tablespoon of virgin olive oil, garlic cloves(3) are always added in last in with the basil and oregano, fresh or dried is fine, and a splash of lemon juice into Heart Smart bottled tomato sauce; oops did I say that out loud? If you wish tomato paste and or fresh plums or canned tomatoes smashed instead is great too, add water accordingly or low sodiumV8. I have found less salt is needed in most dishes when you use lemon juice instead, and in this I do not add any salt or pepper.
Luckily we had meat loaf last night even a pound was way too much, and so Hubby had his sandwich today of some of it, and even so there was too much for my sauce and again I halved that leftover portion and he has enough for another sandwich if he so chooses!
Meanwhile, while making the meat loaf I did think ahead, I had added an egg, Panko, splash of milk, not Kosher but makes it oh so moist, and dried onions, powder garlic, dried basil and oregano all in the loaf!
And so the portion I used I chopped up and nicely peppered the sauce, now as if a Bolognese sauce!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM oh so Good!
   
Now you have your pasta cooked and drained, set it aside.
Take your casserole and spray it too, you will thank me later...
And now take a ladle full of sauce and spread it over the Pam, take your low fat cream cheese, yep instead of ricotta or low fat cottage which I have used mostly, anyway take your low fat cream cheese and part skim shredded mozzarella and sprinkle them over the sauce, now add some pasta and continue to  alternate the process till you run out of pasta! Last should be sauce and sprinkle the top with Romano parmesan blend or low fat parmesan, you are just using a little so it is okay!

Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for about twenty minutes, since everything is cooked you are putting it in the oven to melt the cheeses that's all, ENJOY!
Serve with garlic bread and salad.
And in October, for me with a nice red wine, Melbec, is my favorite.

This is a high carb meal and my thought was I cannot seem to get to sleep, and carbs do make one sleepy, like turkey, for a different reason though, and pineapples do too and I have been avoiding carbs and so... who knows?
I have tried the turmeric and warm milk and honey, also for fat reduction too.
Turmeric is ancient and has many health benefits: http://dailyhealthlifestyles.com/15-benefits-of-turmeric/?utm_source=Turmeric%20health%20benefits&utm_medium=turmeric&utm_campaign=bing

Good night to all, share those blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

PS We have four wind chimes too; three that are in the backyard over the front of our sunroom windows that prevent birds from flying into them and dying, happened way too often before we did that. The fourth one is up front off to the side of my smiley blue moon/sun metal sculpture, and it had broken into pieces and fell to the ground and again I suggested buying a new one and Hubby said if he couldn't fix it alright.... well remember that antique copper acrylic paint I had bought at Walmart and I wanted to come up with a use for it?
I gave it to Hubby and this is what he did with it!

I think its FIXED!  

Whaaaaaaaat?

Could it be Balenciaga? They look so much alike!

At more than 2K?

https://www.yahoo.com/style/ikea-had-hilarious-response-balenciaga-201753751.html


 Nah...it is an Ikea! Only .99, but in our case free from the kids when they brought Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe they want it back? Never said, found it when cleaning and rearranging my closet months ago!
Hubby is the one who remembered what it was from, I couldn't remember.
I offered it to Hubby for another green grocery bag, but he feels it is way too large!

Moving on...

Live well fish pond bench, Hubby spent a lot of time sanding and spar varnished.
Used for pondering by the dapple waters and also for keeping fish for major pond cleanings!

A lot to think about!

Moving on, more so...

My computer had been held hostage by a loud page that came up threatening to shut it down, which it basically did!
I was so frustrated I told Hubby I was about to toss the computer in the garbage!
The message said to call a bogus number, and foolishly I did, and they were kind enough to want to help me for a fee, $100 or there about!
The con number and do not call was 1-844-817-7355, BOGUS, DO NOT CALL and they said they were working for Microsoft, but they were NOT!
Hubby said he would find the actual Microsoft phone number and he did, and they did a free courtesy fix that went on well into the wee hours of the night even after they took over my computer and hung up but it continued to remove the viruses and spyware!
As you can see it is now working fine once again, thankfully!
Here is the legit Microsoft certified technicians: 1-800-642-7676, the legit number!
The Microsoft certified technician asked me for that above BOGUS number to track them, they knew all about them and are bringing them down!

Share those blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Cherub fountain refurbished from ruin too! But we have PICs of all Floridians worst nightmares too!

So many things we attained in life have stories attached to how we acquired them and there is a somewhat short story of how we received the cherub fountain. Hubby was in landscaping briefly on the east coast of Florida and one of his customers was throwing it out since two of levels were broken, Hubby asked if he could have it and for awhile two levels were working with a gluing but alas it did not last! And then there was just the one, pretty as a yard sculpture, but not much else since its reservoir is no longer there. For a while Number One Son was given it for his home and it graced his front portico garden when he lived in New Port Richey Florida, but when he moved and sold that home he gave it back to us.  

 

 

 

 Cue the Jaws music, oh no I cannot, that's what crashed my laptop! Hubby is trying to remove all the virus and spyware, while I write here on my phone to you!

Good night!

New ideas and old afters

Have you ever seen metal sphere wind socks, nah neither had we. Hubby's idea, emergency tape that he has leftover from his other life recycled! The spheres were actually moss filled planters at one time and opened up into halves. The plants hung lovely at one time, but when they were gone the plants passed on the spheres once again had another life as brightly neon colored garden balls, this is their third life use now as metal sphere wind non-socks but hanging up high in the trees! Off the ground again and this time sprayed with stainless steel colored Rustoleum ...yay they say! Not really but... you know me... more proof of me being me...

Below you will see that the duckling and the frog made it back into the garden from sitting on the edging. The only explanation has to be that they were not too sure of their new ground covered base. I guess they decided the eucalyptus mulch was A-OK! 

 Safe under that gardenia bush with amaryllis and cannas bulbs off to the left there.

 This segment below of  the newly renovated surround the fish pond vista is just a clean up of items no longer needed, but ferns and replanting of a couple of pineapple plants in the shade of the avocado tree!

 

 

The one below here is the repainting of the children and puppy on the slide! Now don't they look so much better and livelier too! Nearby are the schefflera and ficus trees. The ponderosa lemon tree is just around the corner to the left and the one of the two Pinkies, our named flamingoes.   

 

 

 The last picture of the garden surround is the triple decker turtle balancing act, notice without a net yet/still! Although, the youngest has lost his head periodically, but somehow we always find it. This time it was sneaky and hid underneath the old waterfall that met its demise upon falling to pieces when trying to be moved by Hubby as part of the beautification project! But there was that tiny turtle head under it! Hubby super glued it back on, again... Geez, how it got under it there has got to be a story about that, but as usual, nobodies talking! That had to be some kind of a inanimate wild-life party, giving new meaning to the concept, "party animals"!

 

 

 

 

Share those blessings and we will too!

 

 

 

 

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Eclectic Tonight!

 

 

Being disabled or even just being vertically challenged the below two items are very, very helpful. I call them reachers, but they must have another more technical name, and if you know please tell me.

 Below are my two feet and ankles, embarrassing as they may be to some they being viewed is to show how they look after several hours in my motorized wheelchair, swollen and my right for the last two days appears to be taking on some not so lovely coloring, bruising, but no injury was attained, baffled and a bit concerned. Could it be from my latest diagnosis of LA, Lupus Anticoagulant and should I get thee to the hospital or wait for the doctor tomorrow or just call my chronic care nurse? I have been icing them, but it was removed for photo op purposes. They are elevated and I have been known to quadruple my 81mg. dosage of good ole aspirin for that anti-inflammatory purpose, anyone have any ideas?

 The next four pictures are Hubby's project of mulching and edging the pond garden, the pond looks so small there, but it is a mighty 1100 gallons!

Today we went out once  again!

The third one for the year, fall, winter and spring they are here, for The Home and Garden Show was today at the Charlotte County Events and Conference Center in Punta Gorda Florida, admission is always free for this particular event! Actually, it was all weekend but we went today and after had lunch at Jack's on Marion. Hubby had his usual roast beef ajous with spicy fries and I had mine, my Hail Caesar salad without anchovies, all out today and my joyous Calypso seafood soup, both came home with us as well as Hubby's remainder of his fries. We had the cooler in the car and now Hubby keeps a Ziploc bag and asks wherever we are to fill it with ice and they of course do, nice, ice!

The amazing thing was no waiting for a handicap spot at either venue, one was ready right up front, same at Jack's; I suppose the snowbirds have flown home?

 

The Home and Garden Show was like the others although I had two oops today. I spoke to the ADT home alarm guys as if they were the hearing impaired phone guys, hmm lack of sleep can do that, ya know? Any-who, I went on and on about how Hubby was a board member of H.I.P. that stands for hearing impaired persons while he was in community policing, he was on several boards then. We were supposed to take a course on phrasing signing, we both sort of knew the alphabet from when the boys when they were little in scouts, Hubby was the Ocean County Scouting Coordinator in NJ back then. Anyway, I then unfortunately had to have my hand surgery of my left hand way back then in August of 2001, so that put a delay on the class, which sadly we still have never gotten around to taking since.   

Maybe someday?

 

And finally,

We went into Publix for groceries on our way home! Last stop.

Share those blessings folks and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Anyone knowing about foot and ankle swelling and bruising without injury let me know what you think, please? 

Fires vs. hurricanes, in the hemisphere on of all days Earth Day!

Our part of the state, the western side, has had acres and acres burned from Polk to Collier counties all due to the drought, this is our yearly dry season from December first to May thirty-first, and these fires have been started again by everything else from natural causes to careless cigarette disposal to accidental to arsonists! Horribly the fires are still not totally contained in any of those places!
It is a tinderbox out there folks, so be careful!
Homes, nine, have been lost in that 5,500 acre Collier County fire, but as of this writing so far no lives, thankfully!

Fires are usually an inland event due to forestry and ranches and more brush and farms to fuel the flames, but are rarely seen on the waterfront where we reside; at least in the nearly thirty-one years that we have lived on both coasts in Florida we have not been in the middle of any, and fires appear to be a yearly event too.

Hurricanes can be just as devastating as fires to land, life, homes, businesses and anything else you can think of the danger is as bad and the end results are worse also.
The only good thing about hurricanes, if there is anything that could be considered "good", is that there are many less hurricanes than fires, and many miss us when they are in our part of the world anyway, thankfully.

At least the current storm Arlene is a fish storm that is presently out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hopefully it will diminish there too:https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-04/nsfc-nan042117.php

Think about the hurricanes that you hear about, there are just a few that have caused the horrific horrors that we all have all etched into our brains from being there like the survivors of the fires can attest to too!

Moving on...

My medicinal cocktail of extra strength Tylenol and Baclofen and ice packs eventually kicked in to make me feel better from last night's spasms untimely visit, just when I was about to write this blog.

I do take Baclofen everyday in the morning and at bedtime, but my neuros have always given me the option to take more if I need be, which works out well for me. I rarely take more than the 40mg. daily, but I can take as much as 80mg.
I am still taking one 300mg. of Gabapentin at bedtime too, down from as much as 2100mg.!
I hate drugs.
My history with them has been well documented here as me being that 1% that usually has a negative reaction to many legal medications, with one causing permanent bi-lateral thigh paresthesia and a common one nearly killing me given to me in the hospital and being coded, twice.
So now you know why.

Maybe tomorrow night I will try for something more upbeat.
I sure hope so; don't we all need that?

Good news we are all still here!

Share all those blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!






 

UNFORTUNATELY I'M NOT LEFT HANDED

My right arm is in a weird spasm.
This is exhausting me writing lefty with two fingers.
While my left side of my lower back is also in spasm.
Hubby got me two ice packs and extra strength Tylenol, perhaps more Baclofen too, so I am hopeful and yes grateful for him.
GTGN TTYL!

Sad grass, but what's that? Xeriscaping plants thriving!

"Definition of xeriscape

1. :  a landscaping method developed especially for arid and semiarid climates that utilizes water-conserving techniques (such as the use of drought-tolerant plants, mulch, and efficient irrigation)"Thanks to:https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xeriscape

 

A very good concept to conserve water usage anywhere these days!

 

Oyster shell wreath with brighter blue with green polka dots ribbon, the ribbon was on sale at 80% off at JoAnne's, just under four bucks!

The two plants in my Shabby Chic planter window box with raised cut-out wooden colorful flowers on the front side, now hidden by healthy growth of plants; a house warming gift from my retired teacher cousins from NJ who had retired to Venice Florida. The plants are a unique thornless cacti that gets a beautiful purple velvet-like flower bud and the wandering Jew plant that grows anywhere and everywhere, remember that, ha! 

 

The flower box rests on our Spar varnished teak bench; made from our leftover remnant from our dive platform from our old cabin cruiser in NJ that we sold upon leaving there back in 1986, and it all rests on the painted white cement block legs situated off to the right in the cubby by our entry of our front door to our home.

 Soon as our rainy season begins our lawn has historically come back to the plush green that everyone prefers! Meanwhile the caladium bulbs are showing a lovely display along with miniature elephant ears, both, I believe to be in the philodendron family and are bulbs or tubers and replenish and multiply yearly! At least I only bought them once years ago.

We actually did go out today first to Lowes to pick up some more cement edging as you see in our front garden for Hubby to use this time in the backyard for the fish pond garden that is  nearly twice the size due to its circumference. The front was just forty feet, but the back yard is seventy-eight, just around the pond!

We had a coupon for fifteen dollars off on anything in Lowes if you spend fifty or more up to two hundred and fifty and then we still have another coupon for fifty dollars off if we spend that, but we did not, it would have been over one hundred dollars for the edging, but since we had the coupon for the fifteen dollars off it wasn't.

Lunch was at Red Lobster after and we spent our entire $25 gift card and our emailed three dollars off coupon for lunch, taxes and tip and our server today Nicole was perfect in everyway so that is more why we spent it all than what it actually did cost, get it?
We also mentioned to thank their general manager.

Share your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Oh I forgot to tell you...

Last Friday the Red Lobster gift card arrived; the general manager of our Port Charlotte Florida one is a woman of her word!
We had had a problem with their server there, her attitude and how she had served us, and so I had called a few days after our lunch and  I explained what had transpired and suggested that the server needed to be retrained and this was the resolve besides the assurance that the server would be spoken to, yep that is how to do business even when you aren't a stand alone small one.
In the olden days the customer was always right, but these days, at times, they seem to treat us customers as if they are doing us a favor taking our money! Dear businesses, without customers you have no BUSINESS! And believe me when I say that, since I have been a business person with two turnkey businesses and even a service business years ago and also a consumer like everyone else, so I know this to be true from both sides of the story!
And so I was relieved that I was heard with my concerns, and the gift card was a nice little touch, less than what our bill was for that uncomfortable meal, but a nice gesture just the same.
Thank you Red Lobster, well done.

Moving on...

Last night, I did something rash, well not rash, but done on the spur of the moment.
I finally got dental insurance, minimal, but with Humana and a PPO.
Goes into affect May 1st for x-rays and cleaning.
It is a preventative policy basically.
Oddly enough that toothache that I had had weeks ago went away, and so I imagine it was food caught in an area that finally dislodged through my constant flossing and using one of those dental picks, mouthwash, battery toothbrush and relentlessness with Anbesol applied whenever I felt the need, oh and yes even extra strength Tylenol ingested!
All better, and now whenever I am home and eat I rinse and brush and use the pick, which is easier for me with my limited hand motions these days.
So I feel I can go to the dentist with a better outlook?
I have to wait six months for the remainder of the insurance to kick in for major work for things like root canal or what have you.
The minimal part is it only pays 50% and some items 28% discounts for other things, but I can cancel at any time.

Hubby was annoyed that I went with Humana, since I have had so much aggravation from their RX.
I thought that separate divisions would/could be separate and better or just different?
Their specialty RX is okay for my needs, it's mail order that causes issues for me.
Any-who, I called today to get some names for dentists that accept their insurance.
I could not go online because even though they already were paid for the first month I have no ID number yet and so I called their customer service!
Well, all I wanted was to give someone my zip code to find out which dentist that accept their insurance were available to make an appointment with, since it sometimes takes weeks to be fitted in, right?
They kept asking me my name, address, date of birth and then would say they would have to transfer me to another department, since they did not know or have that information!
After, four different toll free numbers were given to me in case we got disconnected and we inevitably would and I would call and go through the same baloney again!
I finally called the very nice agent I spoke with last night, he had given me his direct toll free number and extension, and he found two dentists offices within a few miles from my home.
One had two women dentists and the other had one female dentist there, sounds like reverse discrimination to you maybe, but I thought I would ask for a female, since I mostly seem to get along well with them. I know, guilty.
Anyway, I called the first office since the two women were there or so I was told!
Ha, no women worked in that dentist office only a male doctor, who has been in practice for thirty years! Oh but not there, Punta Gorda and Miami, here just a year and no women ever worked in his office.
Odd.
I started to make an appointment, but cancelled.
Confused and exhausted I decided to wait until tomorrow to try again.

My arms, hands and oddly enough both of my pinkies have been really acting stiff and numb.

So I called my chronic care nurse Carla on the speaker phone.
We chatted for quite some time.
I mentioned that I was considering going back to one of the local neuros, since it was that ones billing department that was a problem, not the doctor, at all.
She is a little over a mile from our home and with gas prices soaring and my other neuro one hundred miles round trip this seemed like checking out this doctor again wouldn't hurt and Carla said she would call. This incident that happened with the doctor was back in April of 2009, so eight years ago, almost exactly.
She had seen me in the hospital and was the one who had put me on my first time of IV Solu Medrol for three days. At the time I had no insurance and she said don't worry we would work something out. But her billing department did not get the message. I had tried to set up a payment plan like I had with the hospital, and they billed me for the whole amount. I asked for them to speak with the doctor to verify our conversation and they refused. They finally offered a discount if I paid one very large lump sum, which I did under duress, needing monies for other bills at the time but we did cut back and managed. Shortly after I was sent a certified letter stating that the doctor wanted nothing to do with me! I had no recourse.
CRAZY!
Anyway, she is a good doctor who I think had a very bad billing department who did not let/want for me to talk to her.
A few years ago I answered an ad for a trial on another MS medication, and coincidentally it was her practice conducting the trial, now I remember I had received a letter from her office.
Again CRAZY!
When I called I was baffled by the whole thing and declined the offer due to fear of me being that 1%again with negative reactions to new meds.
   
Share those blessings please and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

 

Refresh renew!

 

Many information sites have the origins of why the pineapple was decidedly used as a symbol for hospitality and welcoming, but they all agree that is what it represents, and so we have two.

We get you coming and going, our front door's bell is ensconced in a brass pineapple, and our dock has a molded cement, I think, since it was found in the canal when we arrived in this home, any-who it has been painted two distinctive colors over the nearly nineteen years we have been in this particular home, first dark hunter green blending too well into its post, and most recently metallic gold for it o stand out and be noticed! Its drabness has been transformed once again with Hubby giving its spray today! WELCOME IT SHOUTS! Now what long-time Floridian, interpretation retiree, doesn't have at least one Flamingo in his/her lawn ornament collection, why they wouldn't be considered true old timer's of Florida if they didn't, so here we go paying homage to that great tradition that most all Floridians can feel a giggle or disgust for, due to some believing that they are "tacky", but iconic in my opinion and why then have they been immortalized in all mediums as well as decors and clothing, from plastic to bronze, from cotton to silk? The forever Florida symbol of the pink Flamingo, ours are somewhat of the neon pink coloring, for years we had them painted a Pepto Bismol, tummy medication colored! We went for the more endurable outdoor neon colored spray paint, so we thought. 

 

BEFORE.

 

AFTER!

BEFORE.

 

AFTER!

 

BEFORE.

 

AFTER!

And if the truth be told we do have besides these individual Flamingoes, of their not too tacky accepted metal variety ones above and we have seven plastic ones in the shed, we had at one time scattered them around the yard to scare away the herons from eating our pond fish, although we had put two in the front yard just for that Florida look, and believe it or not someone stole one or perhaps just blew/flew away?

So they have been stored for years since.

 

Share those blessings anyway and we will too!

 

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

 

Turkey Kielbasa!

Kielbasa, the other half of the one we had weeks ago that we had frozen for tonight, nah, sounded good,..., with lower fat and sodium, yea they do make it, anyway... I did that tonight with handful of  sauerkraut, of course,  one medium sized peeled and chopped into half quartered sized pieces yellow squash, different, I know, one and a half onions sliced, three cloves of garlic smooshed and chopped, a cup of frozen peas and one large potato, pre-zapped four minutes in the microwave, sliced, and  a 1/2 cup of frozen mushrooms!
Chicken bouillon low sodium with  one cup of water and less than a quarter cup of flour for thickening the sauce that has Kosher salt, pepper, and thyme in it mixed altogether then pour over everything in the large pan that it is all mixed into after it had been sprayed with PAM and a tablespoon of olive oil and a smidge of butter! Oy Vey, not Kosher at all, but mmm oh so good! So a one pan meal! Since the turkey kielbasa is precooked... and oh so fast too!
Should have quartered the kielbasa though because for two, once again way too much; lotsa leftovers!

Lunchtime I had my homemade New England style but my own, clam chowder, on Friday, and yes it had two slices of bacon zapped in microwave, also not Kosher, and one potato also zapped in microwave and chopped, sautéed vegetables,  one stalk chopped celery,  half cup of frozen mushrooms, fresh carrots, also pre-zapped, then added frozen mixed vegetables, sometimes just frozen corn, onions, garlic, chicken bouillon, two packets with flour for thickening and two cups of water too, and two cans of minced clams with juice when all the other has permeated, add in thyme, sea salt, crack black pepper, and Old Bay seasoning, a splash of milk and a drizzle of lemon! Yields about eight good sized cups or more, add more spices and water/milk to gain more.  Sometimes I add in shrimp or surimi crab with the clams even better, and sometimes instead of milk I used stewed canned tomatoes, always in my pantry, smashed or put into the Cuisinart, or fresh cherry/grape tomatoes with low sodium V8, and that makes it a Manhattan style but mine own version and add in either a dash of lemon juice or sherry vinegar, either works very nicely!

I so love making homemade soups!
Even though its heating up, in the air-conditioning it is always comfortable.
Hubby's Grandma Anna had a theory, more like an expression really that you should eat hot when it is hot and cold when it is cold that it neutralized your system, and she did live a very long healthy life!
Who knows.
I do know I liked her since she was very warm and loving, and when I had my first miscarriage and in the 1970s it appeared to be taboo to discuss she had no qualms and revealed that she had had one too! Gotta love the ole gal, my kind of woman, spoke her mind.
I had two more miscarriages, but she wasn't around for them she passed away when our second son was just six months old in August of 1976, but she had gotten to hold him, really nice lady.
Oh she had a green thumb for gardening and was a great cook and baker too!
And shared her knowledge with me, so very nice.
Hubby thought that her pound cake recipe had been lost that he had loved when she passed away sadly, but when I tried to make it using an old tried and true cook book, Betty Crocker's, it tasted just like hers, minus the egg shells, ha!
Sometimes over the years I have made it, since it is so versatile, adding lemon to it, or using it for strawberry short cake, but since I have been a much bigger gal, I haven't.

Any-who, cooking in our household too was always a family deal and our boys yes, sons always cooked with us from the age of about three and had a ball doing it!
In fact after we got out of the restaurant business our younger son, still in high school, became a sous chef for a fancy restaurant in town! Our older son chose fast food as a student.

And our sons knew how to do laundry and handle money too all before college!

I suppose that is why the older one still isn't married, but in a long term relationship.
I wanted them desperately not to marry for maids I wanted then to marry their equals.
And they did intellect wise.
Oldest significant other, girlfriend is a psychologist.
And our younger son's wife is an attorney, and he is a nuclear engineer!

They again chose wisely.
No maids there, not that there is anything wrong with that job, but domestic chores in a home should be equal too in my opinion a partnership in everything in a good relationship!
Like Hubby and me and it does work.
His Mom was a working Mom so he knew all those things too, survival skills!
Actually, he knew more than I, yep I was a spoiled brat, most all was done for me, but he is responsible for me becoming a Mensch, so to speak. I even learned how to fix things, and paint things like walls inside and out and Geez lotsa stuff!
And I am happier for it.

Share those blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!