ITS HERE...almost...

The oil is creeping closer to the Pensacola coast line; it is actually only nine miles away!
Frightening to us all in Florida, although we have a very long state and our proximity to that part of the state is hundreds of miles away.

Sadly one of our local reporters has been assigned to that job to wait and interview the victims of the disasters impingement on that shoreline, it should be touching down within the next day or two.
The reason that I know that this reporter is on her way is because she asked the question on Facebook, “On my way to Pensacola. Oil expected on FL shores within the next day or so. What questions do you have for the people up here?”

And I said, “First send them our prayers and hopes for a way to resolve this horrendous mess!
Then ask them how they are intending on handling the clean up?
And tell them to take every precaution available to them!
Let them know how they handle all of this will trickle down to us here because we are not that far behind them with the possibility of our turn to deal also with it!
Wish them the ability to succeed and teach us too!”

What else can we do?
Sadly, no one still knows what to do.
Over eight thousand people and mounting I am sure, have written to the BP people and our government with ideas on how to handle it.
Amazingly even James Cameron of Avatar fame.
I think they feel with his brilliant imagination that he may be helpful, and so they are willing to listen to him as one of the ones jumping to the head of the line of the many idea people.

I will beg now for any and all engineers or inventors out there in the world to send logical realistic ideas to the powers that be with documentation of how, when and why their ideas are going to work with of course appropriate crews to install the products for the repairs; if only!

My spell and grammar checks are no longer working again so bear with me please; my mind has been not as good at spelling as in my checkered past of those kids’ spelling tests with one hundred scores that I used to be honored to get.

Moving on… our day was pretty normal for us.
My usual morning rituals were performed, check emails, read our local newspaper online and then look at our Facebook page.
I was up early enough for the ‘word’ contest and entered again, but again did not win!
Two more days of it to go!
In case some have forgotten it is to win a digital battery color TV for emergencies.
Our old one is not digital.
They have different price points all over the net on this item; from around fifty bucks to a few hundred.
I still think having access to our battery TV during Hurricane Charley was what was responsible in saving our lives!

On that note of positivity I will wish you all a very good night and ask you to please count those blessings and we will too!

WE ARE OFFICIAL! IT IS NOW HURRICANE SEASON! It runs from June first to November 30th.

Now everyone is asking where is that located? In our northern hemisphere, but of course, yep that means you northerners too, our friends up there in high places!

"There is nothing magical in these dates, and hurricanes have occurred outside of these six months, but these dates were selected to encompass over 97% of tropical activity." A quote from the, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, AOML notes are above.

NOAA’s predictions for the 2010 hurricane season:
• 14 to 23 Named Storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including:
• 8 to 14 Hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher), of which:
• 3 to 7 could be Major Hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph)
• If interested in keeping up with a notable score card provider go to, copy and paste: noaa.gov
I suppose that many would be frightened by the prospect of such devastating predictions, and add that into the very real threat from the notorious oil spill, huh?
What could we do, where can we run?
The space program is ready for all six billion of us?
No this is our mess; yes not just the Gulf’s Coast but the world’s!
Every so-called brilliant man, woman and child is supposedly working on fixing this environmental inconceivable disaster that no one would ever believe was at all possible.
I betcha that’s pretty much like those way back when ‘think tanks’, where all the most intelligent people would get together to…gosh…think!
One of my best girlfriends from college had been a part of one of those, but I never had the nerve to ask her what they discussed; now I wish I had, but she was a great study partner, and I got great grades that way!
That BFF was also my reason for my side trip to Scotland buddy to go to Saint Andrews.
You see just before our senior year, in that summer of 1969, we had this incredible trip to the fashion houses of Europe, since we were students at LIM, (while the rest of our contemporaries were at Woodstock) and that took care of six countries, but BFF and I flew a short trip over to Scotland and stayed with a designer student friend of hers who later became quite famous, but if I told you I would have to kill you! Just kidding folks!
That fact that this friend who was so smart was my friend was terrific in my book and as an adult I have tried hard to befriend people who I could learn from.
I don’t think it’s on purpose but I enjoy learning that way from others.
I guess I am too easily distracted to sit and learn that way; hands on, actually doing or by example had been my MO for me being able to retain what’s important in life, new valuable info!
Talking to people and asking questions works well too for me; have you ever examined what is your best method of learning?
It’s intriguing that now at this advanced age I finally figured out what works, for me that is.
I am so glad that I am not one of the people needed to figure out how to handle this miserable difficult decision making peeps that are working I am sure very hard to plug the oil leak!
Geez don’t we all wish we had the ability to solve major problems?
I do think that anyone who has a heart in their body would think that way, don’t you?
Now we are all starting to realize between our frustration and anger how hard this whole problem is to figure out to solve, and only wish that we had the answer and could ride in on white horses and save the day, the Gulf, the fishermen, the wildlife, the environment and the world!
Hating to bite that bullet that we all know will come, we were all wrong to fall into the blaming game for we are all to blame, aren’t we really?
Think about if we weren’t all gas hogs, not knowing how to conserve etc. etc… and the rest is history!

Good night to all and to all count those blessings and we will too!

Emails, swimming and relaxing...

Our lives were very laid back today!
Most would have enjoyed this way of life at any time.
I awoke late for me, at seven thirty and read my emails the newspaper and examined Facebook while having that always welcomed morning coffee, my only one for the day!
Then the pool was on the agenda and we all did splash in, Hubby and Skipper too this morning! It was a revitalizing joy for us.

My cousin doesn’t scare easy I have found out! Thank heavens! And she did have the where with all to respond within hours of my return email.
Since I have found family to be so refreshing, although at times irritating at this stage in life!
Arguably, we all need that connection.
Have it be us knowing our roots or whatever?
People from every walk of life need to know where they came from and where they went or maybe even where they are going.
Systematically we humans have a nosey bone in our bodies.
Which amounts to curiosity that causes us to question people we care about but some take offense by too many questions when others are forthcoming with lots of info!
There is a fine line of where to start and when to or where to stop.
And this gal has been unable to know when it is enough in those circumstances.

I just wrote back again to my new found Cous and hope that we continue this Nuevo relationship for a long time, and that I don’t screw it up!

Moving on… meanwhile back at the oil leak nothing is working and no one knows what to do! Scary as all get out! The latest is an idea to try another cone topper that while in the process may allow another twenty per cent of oil to leak out while being done.
You know world this is not good!
The environmental damage is extensive already and promises to be only to get much, much worse.

Unfortunately, the tourist industry is taking a tremendously hazardously hit without reasoning here in Florida where people have been misinformed about our waters….

LISTEN AGAIN FOLKS “NO OIL HERE ON OUR BEACHES!!!!!”

Our local news casters here are as frustrated, you can hear it in their voices as well as seeing it in their faces when they repeat that above lament to the public.
If we could only have the out of state media tell the people too!
Our people here already know that.

Let’s just hope that by the time they do understand our message that it’s not too late and it does get here, the oil that is…

On that scary thought I will wish you all a very good night and to all count those blessings and we will too!
PS Hope your holiday was safe and peaceful too!

Bold moves, great weather and strange ...

My title tonight is a bit intriguing?
My bold move was contacting a family member, a first cousin that I probably haven’t spoken with in over thirty years!
It was a wee bit scary but also a welcomed relief to make that contact with another person who has been enduring what I have been learning to deal with in recent years, MS.
Yes, my female cousin has had it for thirty-five years, since 1975.
To be fair we were never that close as children since she is a few years older than me, and for some reason I seemed to gravitate towards my boy cousins, why, who knows but I did.
The best part of making contact at this late date was the fact that we are both much older and mothers and it appears we have more in common than we ever did as children.
I found her on Facebook and we will now I suspect become email pen pals, but it seems that I have a problem of divulging too much information too soon when I do reach out to the old most memorable people in my past life.
To be honest I more than likely overwhelm people with a genuine thinking that I must tell all that has happened in those twenty, thirty or forty years that we had been apart in my first written back email!
And so this time I will try to be more diligent and thoughtful before I answer this particular person for I don’t want to scare her off too.

You see, I do write the way I tend to talk, motor mouth is an understatement when speaking to anyone, but you all know that since you have been reading this for some time now, right? No surprises here.
If I play my cards right I could learn a lot from all that she has been through, she could be my guide or mentor, so to speak. Although this illness is a bit different for each one of us who deals with it daily and there are four different kinds.
But who knows, perhaps we could just compare experiences and commiserate?

I must admit there is no complaining about our weather here in southwest Florida; it was picture perfect again as usual!
And so I made my way into the pool early and enjoyed at least an hours worth of ROM.

The strange part is that unfortunately I did not sleep well last night, and my body has been disloyal to me in the respect that the exercise program doesn’t seem to be working in a positive way.
For the problem of numbness and stiffness has moved into my arms as well as my whole of my legs now, and to tell the truth I am getting a wee bit frightened by that.

Hopefully, I will be approved for the new injectable medication and I will not have so many relapses which appear to be a daily event now, and I have taken to using the walker inside now too, no more furniture walking for tonight.
As I said the application went in last Monday and they said they would respond in two to four weeks.

Hubby barbecued a great dinner tonight and we both enjoyed it immensely!
I figured it out… barbecuing and reading lower the electric bill!

While you try to figure out my cryptic above message I will bid you all a very good night and to all count those blessings and we will too!

How's your weekend going so far?

This is the so-called beginning of summer, and many take this first weekend of warmth to enjoy to the fullest!

Here in southwest Florida we are having sea pork or sea squirts floating ashore and they are being mistaken for oil or tar chunks, but they are not! The information below will let you know what they are:

The below information is derived from Wiikipedia and for a complete definition copy and paste and go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunicate

“While most tunicates live on the ocean floor and are commonly known as sea squirts and sea pork, others – such as salps, doliolids and pyrosomes – live above in the pelagic zone as adults.

Most tunicates feed by filtering sea water through pharyngeal slits, but some are sub-marine predators such as the Megalodicopia hians.”

Moving on… our day was our norm for us, but Hubby finally decided to join me in the pool, I suppose even after nearly twenty-four years of living here in Florida he is still thinking summer begins this weekend! It was so nice to share the warm tub-like waters with him and our Skipper!

He is again working on a project but this time a reconstruction, the board walk needed additional medium support since it is thirty-four inches wide and runs approximately sixty feet down to the dock. It had one of those spongy feels to it, and so Hubby supported it with four by fours that we fortunately still have left over from that free fence we received, and so although mucho labor is involved no additional expense is. Hubby is taking his time, but should be done soon it is only a matter of maybe a half a dozen four by fours for support and solid non bouncy walking boards.

I think I just discovered a severe problem with this program that my spell and grammar check has stopped working so forgive any mistakes that should have been picked up.

Actually, I just went to my email and corrected it from there. I suspect that is what I will have to do from now on.


Update: It has corrected itself when I closed my word program with fear of losing data!


Meanwhile back at the spill we just received word that the ‘Top Kill’ did not work and so now they will be moving on to trying something else!

Florida is only finding people with suntan ‘oil’ and seaweed darkening the waters here!

We are still just fine.

It was a lazy day for me I even napped this afternoon; we barbecued our dinner, which we will do all weekend. But isn't that what this weekend of the holiday is mostly about; to remember those who gave there lives to preserve our freedoms? And what better way to respect that than to display the American flag, barbecue and relax by the pool or beach, right? I think perhaps you will all agree!

On that note I will wish you all a very good night and to all count those blessings and we well too!

How many of you enjoy gardening?

Thought I would go with a lighter topic tonight, I’m sure it’s all right with you?

Personally, I used to be an avid gardener, and since Hubby’s retirement I have been trying to get him to love it as much as I once did. Both my grandfathers loved it and they were manly men too! Besides one of them actually lived into his nineties, since I also heard that gardening is quite healthful.
My limitations have taken that away somewhat my ability to move freely around the yard that is.
I have been lowered down to an occasional shrew like hateful person because I was at one time not allowing weeds, overgrown or dead plants to be a part of the landscape.
Whenever I went out the door I would keep up with my gardens and for that they always had a manicured look, but since my ills have taken me to this level that I cannot seem to get out of they have not had that devoted attention. Now you know why I want Hubby to take over. It’s much more pleasurable to see beauty when you go outside than weeds and death, that’s all I am saying.

Consequently, when I do leave the solitude of my indoor environment I tend to find critical landscape uglies that really bug me, and as you may have guessed by what I said in my previous statement I have no patience to wait for it to be fixed.

You see, Hubby does not see those little problems that I mentioned as problems or even as not aesthetically appealing but unfortunately I do.
Thus my non politenesses of critiquing the way things look.
Guilt goes along with the actual telling of how things look to me, but the filter for me on my brain has been gone unfortunately for years.
Whenever I think I should try to be less critical I think that I would then be lying.

My darling man of my life and soul is more tolerant of the dying in flora that is.
Tomato plants or dead branches or dead trees he feel need several months to recover while I hate looking at their shriveled uglies stems and bodies, I suppose I am more the euthanasia type, for plants that is. Put the thing out of its misery, PLEASE!
Dead is dead.

But to his good… it would be unfair not to mention that when I do say anything to Hubby about this or that in the yard he does seem to notice and take care of it, but I feel that he should notice these things without me having to say anything to him. It makes me feel ugly myself and too bossy too.

Just maintaining what we already have growing is the major job for him plus tending to the veggie garden which he had built from scratch with raised beds, arbor and trellis’s etc., he waters the plants nightly when we haven’t had rain mostly using the water from the rain barrels which is quite a job!
He mows the lawn, trims and blows away the grass on the walkways and fertilizes everything and sprays for bugs, pruning bushes and trees and dead removal etc. actually exhausting!
He used to only have the lawn to take care of but even in the old days I would fertilize that at one time!
It saddens me not being able to do my part anymore, and frustrates me at the same time too.
I thought I had devised a plan to be of some help.
We have one of those rolling garden caddy carts that you can move around the yard and inside it hold tools or seeds and the like, and then you move it to where you want to work in the garden and it is a seat when closed.
But Hubby would have to place it where I would be working and it would be up to me to get there by walker or scooter, and he felt it was too complicated and it would be easier for him just to do it, and so I gave in and that was a few years ago and now I still can only watch and sometimes wait from inside or on the patio seated there.

Being once a type ‘A’ personality in business management I truly hate being on the sidelines!

Any-who, this morning we went grocery shopping and no pool today for me, but yesterday I was in for an hour.

I would like right now to wish you all a very good night and wish you all a safe and happy holiday weekend, find time to count those blessings and we will too!

Pet Peeves Night including more rants

Who enjoys mudslinging in a political campaign?
Who doesn’t have silent joy when the mudslinger gets his come up-pence?
You know what I mean, someone whose only way to make himself look good is to trash his opponent? I don’t enjoy the first, but the latter makes me grin, to be honest.

Well, today one of our state candidates for governor who has been not only trashing his opponent but he’s also been taking out of context what our president snippet news clips statements are and trying to make him look foolish as well.
But today someone went after this particular candidate with accusatory claims of this nasty guy being involved in defrauding Medicare with not so kosher claims.
How about that?
Some rack that up to bad Karma?
Or what comes around goes around, stop I’m getting dizzy folks!
But you get the gist of all this.
Politics by definition must mean don’t play nice for it appears that way to me, huh, what about you?

Illegal aliens is another hot topic and Arizona feels they need to check everyone they can to prevent it from continuing to get out of hand by instating additional legislation to support the already problematic situation that they are at their wits’ end to fix. But I already thought that law was on the books in every state in this country. Our candidate here feels that Florida should also have that law, now I am not an attorney, and I only took business law for a couple of years and I could be wrong but isn’t it true that once you arrest someone doesn’t law enforcement have the right to thoroughly check into their background including if they are here in the good old US of A with either a green card or visa or some other papers to make them legit, and that my friends is called probable cause to do that?
I suppose this is for the ones just here on vacation or minding their own business?
To me, I am sorry but this sounds like profiling because it is aimed at only one ethnic group and population. What about all the illegal Canadians, Australians, Germans, Iranians, Israelis, French, Italian, I could go on and on…get my point?
But seriously folks we love you all!
After all isn’t this America give us you’re tired and poor and let them join our freedoms by showing them how to do it?

The one thing that keeps sticking in my brain was the image of that elementary school child that asked our first lady, Michelle Obama if the president was going to arrest her Mom since she doesn’t have her papers?
My heart sank with those words and the look on that child’s face who by the way spoke perfect American English!
Our wonderful warm and brilliant mom herself Michelle Obama answered the child with well we will have to look into that, or some such thing. The point is she tried to reassure the child that everything would be all right like any decent person would, of course!
You all know the clip I am speaking of the same day as the President and she were hosting the Mexican Prime Minister and his wife’s visit to our Whitehouse with a reception.

The Top Kill had been initiated and for now within the last little while it has been temporarily stopped to see where they stand with the mud. With the equalized pressure of the Gulf water and mud, one person described it very sensibly as if trying to put two fire-hoses together with equalized pressure, not too easy I would think.

Our Pres spoke to us this afternoon to let us know how the government was in-charged and overseeing BP, and everyone is doing their all to stop the problem!

I heard from the new medicine company again with more information on this injectable that I still haven’t received yet! But I did forget to tell you all that the application for assistance was not too bad after all and went out Monday!

On that note I wish you all a very good night tonight, and ask you to count those blessings and we will too!