Busy day today

The work continued on the grapefruit tree removal. And my hubby finished up before the day turned into evening, which was good since we were scheduled to go out.

We left on time and drove the short trip around the block to our neighbors across the canal.
Dinner was of the international flair mostly eastern European fair and the company was very nice, additional neighbors from that side of the canal too, a slightly younger couple, and I do believe we left before we wore out our welcome, or at least I hope so.
Any-who we stayed nearly five hours, long enough I think for this sort of thing.

Now we are home and the day seems to be somewhat of a tiring one, and so I will close early due to pleasant exhaustion. Please forgive.

Good night to all and to all enjoy life till pleasantly exhausted too.

The day was chocked full of things to do

We went out when the temperatures finally warmed to the mid fifties, I know, brrr for Florida!
Any-who most of the day was that chilly, we went to do errands that I felt needed to be done and it was great getting out after my viral infection and birdie watch to protect our pond fish, who were wonderfully fine on our return; the netting works in its new configuration.

First we stopped for gas to fill up, wow, those prices are inching up again we found that our warehouse store had the cheapest at 1.87.9 all the others were anywhere from 1.91.9 to 1.99.9. And what’s with the .9 thing I do know it has to do with the tax, but you would have thought by now we would have rounded it off with the way its been fluctuating these last couple of years.

Then we went on to a linen store then two discount stores all of the ones we went to were oddly fairly busy for a Thursday morning.
Afterwards we stopped off for lunch at our healthy choice soup and salad place, which too was busy with a nice lunch crowd.

We arrived home with our purchases and full bellies all before 2 P.M.
I do enjoy going out, you don’t realize how much until you haven’t been in a while, I wouldn’t say I had cabin fever but it was pretty close.
Tomorrow night we will be going across our canal to a dinner party at our neighbors from Montreal who stays here six months now that they are both retired.

I asked hubby what he will be doing this afternoon now that we got home fairly early, and he said that he would plant the two palms that the wind or whatever took down two nights ago and broke the one’s pot, and plant them he did right where they sat.

Next he started a controversial project that was voted on a while back and he said he was about to do the opposite of what had transpired by the vote that came in, he was removing our grapefruit tree that has not improved one iota health-wise and still looks an awful lot like the ‘Psycho’ tree alongside the Bates Motel. Well, my hubby was determined, and he winched it to the boat lift and tightened it so the branches were in his reach for cutting with the chain saw an electric one, which is much lighter than the gas models, and down they came, and with every rung of branches being chopped off he would lower it another few feet, and now at this time tonight it is nearly lying on its side naked in its near death state. In its last hurrah it shot out a couple of blossoms onto one tender branch that my hubby blatantly took a photo op of, and I am as corrupt as him too with my many PICS of the murdering deed itself. Actually it was more like euthanasia since the tree really has really been dying sadly slowly and painfully for years.

Sorry to hear that for some unknown personal reasons Caroline Kennedy has taken her name off the short list for the replacement of Senator Hilary Clinton seat.
Mysterious with her reasoning, but perhaps in the future we will find out, curious minds need to know.

Good night to all and to all keep on, well… just keep on doing what makes you happy and healthful.

First Day and Our New president...

Yes, President Obama has frozen senior White House staff employees salaries!
He also placed calls to Mideast leaders and had aides circulate a draft executive order that would close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year. All this tells me he is a man of his word, and that makes me smile, I voted right.

My husband had a hectic day he went to the home store to bring home parts of a better mouse trap, so to speak, to protect our pond from one majestic Great Blue Heron, an eating machine who has his mind set on our pond fish as his personal fish market.
I was in charge of securing the pond while he made his way doing our errands he also was scheduled to pick up a few items from the grocery, but I interrupted that when his new retiree badge, a replacement for his heated destroyed one, came from the Sherriff’s Office where he had been a deputy for all those years.
I called to tell him it finally came; he had requested his new badge well before Christmas and guess what?
His name was correct, even his signature on the back was too, but the picture was that of a man considerably heavier with a moustache and not him at all, ever. Annoying, and he asked me to call about it for him while he continued on his planned day and said sure I would.
Well, the phone number on the note enclosed was incorrect too, and I found myself calling my husband back again, aren’t cell phones great? Anyway, he suggested looking on the email he had received from the person in charge of this procedure and who had written the note enclosed with the wrong picture badge, and I realized the note was only one digit off with that corrected I proceeded to call and rectify the problem.
My hubby would have to go in I was told and get a new photo, the system had been changed in the two years since his retirement, and the badges were better now for the retirees and he should come in and take care of it, so I got the contact persons name so that he could call ahead, but she had a doctors appointment so the initial person that I contacted a computer person would be able to do it, wow! By 1:15 P.M. today my husband received his new retiree badge, and then he moved on to continue the grocery errands, what a mixed up day he had. He happily completed all his tasks by days end and now, tonight we will both relax and enjoy three hours of the return series of, Lost.

So good night to all and to all I got to run, because they are closing down at 4 P.M. PST, which for me is 7 P.M. EST for maintenance, and it’s 6:54 P.M.

Historical, mini disaster, interesting conclusion to a miracle

I will first start off with what I will call our mini disaster since it was not worth contacting our insurance company about with a thousand dollar deductable on homeowner's.
I awoke rather early this morning just after six A.M. earlier than I had been, but back to my old usual.
Anyway, it took a while for sunup since that is when I finally opened the shades and turn off the house lights, and when I did what I saw disturbed me.

One of the very large potted palms at the end of our swimming pool decking was lying on its side with its pot broken. I looked around a bit more and noticed that down on the dock our glider was on its side hitting the miniature lighthouse, and that it was nearly knocked over by it, and one of our table chairs was nearly blown into our dock sink. It took me a few hours later to realize that also our shed's rolled roofing had one row off completely on the water side, and another crumpled on the side facing the house. Our rain gage had been blown into the pool, with many flowers, leaves, but all natural debris. I also noticed today that finally our year old tangelo tree had blossoms, and that was some good news.

I was able to right the plant, put the chair back and push the glider off the lighthouse but not able to put it up into position, I figured when my husband awoke we could do that together. Then I got working on the rain gage with the strainer on its pole, next I removed all the large floating debris. I examined my accomplishments and felt pretty good that I can still do some things.

When my husband awoke he started calling home stores for prices for the shed roof repairs supplies, but in the meantime we still had enough of the same rolled roofing to suffice, until the bigger job could be done, and so he did the temporary repairs.

In between all this we had our TV on watching history being made, of course!
It gave me chills and pride, and slight fear for their safety when the new President Obama and our new First Lady Michelle Obama got out of their tank of a car to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to let the cheering crowds see them. Once I realized that they were well protected I worried for their health about them getting colds without hats on and Michelle in nearly bare, just stocking legs; I guess once a Mom always a Mom and they are the first presidential family younger than me.
And it was scary to hear that Edward Kennedy had a seizure at the luncheon they all went to, but happy to hear later that he was fine and it wasn’t due to his brain cancer, but just due to being tired, I suppose that’s OK at 76 years old.

Nearly last but not least US Airways is paying each and every one of the passengers of the Miracle in the Hudson Flight 1549 crash landing survivors each are getting 5K plus new airline tickets. That’s nice, but I also hope that if any did get checked out at the local hospital I do hope that was paid for too. And let’s not forget the one passenger with the two broken legs; they should take care of that too! Anyway, that is still a very nice thing to do.

The Festivities Continue...

And all major networks are already there in our capitol of Washington D.C.
Even Oprah has arrived.
This is big, bigger than any of us will realize until it’s all over.
That’s the funny thing about such things we know that greatness is evident though with this occasion, but the appreciation of it might not be realized by us mere mortals until many days in the future, perhaps not even for decades.

Mostly, in these next few days, I have intuitive feeling that all good surprises will be coming with our new leader. I do believe that he is sure to bring 99% of what he promised, as long as we are patient and help him. By volunteering, which is a great thing that we had done for over thirty years, and now we are done. But I will tell you something about volunteerism is that it gives you a wonderful feeling when done completely from your heart and your soul.

Tomorrow should bring our amazingly brilliant new President Obama to us articulating his speech, without stumbling or a sliver of uncertainty; he will know where he feels we should be going and how to get there.
What a comfort to our nation to finally have a man in charge that really has a pulse on what our nation needs and desires!

Now all we can hope for is that for a true minority to become president someday….a black, gay, senior, Jewish woman, and then we will definitely have something the world would shout about!
Don’t you think? In time, there is a right moment for everything.


Life is interesting, just when you think you have seen it all… it surprises you again.
A seventy-two year and eighty-seven year old both men in a nursing home, had a fight and the elder won, and left the younger dead. I did say surprising, but not always in a good way, unfortunately. Sadly, they were both Alzheimer patients.

Updates: The tiling is totally complete, and the bathroom is all put back together tonight I even get to use my newly tiled bath!
The taxes I did electronically on the site from: “the, I got people guys” I am not at all happy with them because of me fixing the problem and they were paid before the problem was noticed … and our forms have been accepted by the IRS now, and we will be getting our refund electronically in our account by the end of this month, TA DA! I don’t need any people!

Good night to all and to all think before you get people, because they get money no matter what, why give them yours if you don’t need them?

History has started to be made...

Today, the festivities have begun in Washington D.C. for the most historic days of our lives with the Inauguration of our first Black, true African-American President this Tuesday January 20.2009, Barack Hussein Obama OUR President Elect who just so happens to be half white too, oh how soon you all forget, but what about his loving deceased Mom and Maternal grandparents?!
Do you know what we call a man of his heritage in this day and age?
Do you really?
You may think you know, but what I call him may be more important than what others see him as…I call him an American!
Why do people forget that we are the original melting pot of the world? All of us except the Native Americans are from elsewhere.
It is true that half his ancestors may have not come on their own for the same reasons that ours did, but his Dad was able to be a free agent to go home when he chose to.
Don’t think that I don’t know that this is the most important inauguration ever, because it is; the honorable Reverend Martin Luther King’s dream is definitely being realized beyond anyone’s imagination. And all this has set the stage for a whole new generation with the reality of limitless possibilities.
All I can say to that is …it’s about time!
And I will be tuned to my TV with a great view of the whole amazing process.
I know so many, millions will be there to see it in person, but even I know that they will never get close enough to shake the great man’s hand or see the first lady or first kids.
Believe me I learned the hard way about in person and TV viewing at such an enormous event as this.

Well, maybe not quite so big in comparison but crowded with thousands not millions at; now don’t laugh, at a NASCAR Race the Firecracker 400 in Daytona.
I was lucky enough to receive free tickets while working in promotion way back in the early 1990’s and it was for the infield tarmac, hotter than blazes in Florida in July, anyway, the noise, the dust, you know what I’m saying… we left before the race was over, just in time to see the end in our air-conditioned home just ten miles away and considerably more comfortable!
I know, I know, there is something to be said for the contagion of excitement that live exposure gives you, but in this case I believe you also might get frost bite, maybe?
Anyway, I will be glued and tuned in like everyone else not there in person.

It is so wonderful with all that has gone wrong over the last year that we finally all have something right happening!

On that happy note I will say good night to all and to all take care.

PS: Updates: The Hubby tiling is complete and so is the grout, all it needs now is to cure for about 16 hours, and so by tomorrow night I will be back in my own shower, yippee!
2nd update: Electronically filed taxes, I have repaired mistakes two times and hopefully this last time is the last! NO emails are good emails.
Let us all pray…kidding!

This morning was interesting...

We both awoke late, me at 8:38 A.M., for me, that's like waking up at noon, and hubby wasn't up until nearly a quarter to ten!
I did check on him a few times and he was breathing; so I left well enough alone.
Any-who I decided I would make a dandy breakfast of homemade pancakes; sounds fattening you say, nah, not with skim and a special low cholesterol super Omega 3 egg and sugar substitute, and of course butter buds and sugar free syrup to top them off.
As we were eating we noticed every so slightly peripherally movement out of the corners of our eyes directly behind us. I had opened all the waffle-shades in the sunroom since this time we could utilize the warmth that opening them up would give; it had been rather cold over night, in the forties, even then it was still in the fifties outside, brrr.
The motion was not an absolute and neither of us were sure, there were a few blind spots between each of the nearly four by five foot windows, but at the door to the left of them it was evident we did sense something was there and sure enough there; and yes, he was big gray, leggy and powerful. Almost the size of the yellow, Big Bird of Sesame Street fame and that would not be too much of an exaggeration, our murdering, kidnapping, thief had returned for another victim!
He was stealth in his movements, he could not be heard, but oh yes he definitely could be seen and seen he was and chased he was too! And took off like the coward we knew he really was. Only thing is we are not sure if the netting would have worked since we did not give him a chance to try it. Laughingly, we must have scared him off pretty darn good for we did not see hide or hair, better change that to say feather or bill of him for the rest of today, thankfully.

Hubby continued tiling and is nearly done as I write this he is still working to get that tile part done so grouting can be accomplished tomorrow.

While my darling was busy working on that all day, no wonder he’s been so tired lately.
Anyway, I worked on getting our taxes done online, electronically.
We hit a glitch and of course the number I need to contact is closed till Monday so now that is on hold, darn. I do love getting those refunds early.

In between I read my Marley & Me book it is hard to put down, but I did for the taxes and then again to prepare meals, clean and straighten up.

Didn’t watch or hear much TV today, and the fact that we are still here is a relief, because with being out of touch with the news makes me concerned about what is going on as you do know, knowledge is power, which is another wonderful quote this time from Sir Francis Bacon.
And do you know that one about, Ignorance being bliss, well, while checking that I remembered who’s quote the “knowledge is power” was from I looked up the Ignorance one, and the actual quote is: “where ignorance is bliss,tis foley to be wise Thomas Gray...but ignorance is not bliss -- ignorance is ignorance." How about that? Isn’t that interesting to know the whole quote?
Good night to all and to all have a pleasant warm and cuddly one.