Rain, rain...go away...come again another day...

The only way to describe how today was and unfortunately still is, is that it has been extremely gloomy, our rainfall has been relentless.

It woke me early this morning before five thirty actually! Stormy and never any brightness or sunshine even at sunrise, dark as night, and we had a few flickers of power outages with one that knocked it out for about a half an hour.

I’m the one, usually the first to be on the old fashioned land-line calling our power company, and they said it would be fixed in two hours. Well, they beat their record again, since it was only a half hour until it was fixed.

The odd thing is that they take a number for them to contact you where you can be reached for the day and to let you know how they are progressing on the repair, that’s not really the most peculiar thing…the strange thing was they kept calling to give me updates, twice, after it was already fixed! I wasn’t able to prevent it either, since you are phoned by a computer voice, disembodied entity, and you cannot respond, until the last call did ask me to hit a button if the power is still out, which I did not, and the calls finally did stop.

I am curious and I think many of you might be able to give me some feedback since we have been using this newest technological supposedly enhanced thing, for lack of a better word … you know what I am talking about, digital TV, how is yours working for you?
Ours is temperamental at times with pixels doing wild puzzle like dancing on the screen, and so we scan for new channels whenever it starts to act up, sometimes it makes it relax and fulfill our viewing needs, but at other times the newest channel is lost until we scan again. Have any of you experienced this? We also occasionally have received messages or voice-overs; have you, of emergency personnel working on their radios I suspect, interesting, huh? I thought this new concept was to free up the airwaves for them to communicate without problems or interference?

That’s all I got for you tonight hope tomorrow is a wee bit nicer…I know we beg complain and wish for this watery substance that provides so much sustenance to us especially when we are, believe it or not below our average for the year by more than ten inches, so we are told? But today gave us too much of a good thing, you know what I mean? A half an hour a day is great with rain, an hour is good too I just wish we could negotiate but as we all know that’s something that we haven’t had any control over at all! I must admit that I was happy to hear that Texas was getting the rain they needed so badly, in their southern part of their state.

On that note I will wish you all a good night, be safe and please take care and count those blessings and I will too!

Forgetfulness and another pleasant evening.

Yesterday, 9-10-09 was the 49th Anniversary of Hurricane Donna, a 160 MPH storm killing 13 people in this area of southwest Florida. We, as Charley survivors can only imagine what they all went through and wonder if it is still as fresh to them as what Charley seems to be to us.

Port Charlotte Florida made the number one spot in Money Magazine as the best place in America to retire: for more info go to: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/moneymag/0909/gallery.bpretire_top25.moneymag/index.html

Of course everyone knows that today is the eighth anniversary of that horrendous day of 9/11, and we all remember where we were at the time. I don’t think I have met too many that haven’t had their own personal contact or a story of that day and so many individuals that have known someone on that day that they too had lost.

Personally, my best friend’s husband's law associates were in one of the towers, and our niece’s best friend's father was the pilot in the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, our younger son lost friends in the Pentagon, his Naval friends, and a dear friend here in Florida lost her nephew who worked for one of the financial firms in one of the towers as well. We as a nation were equally touched, no, actually as a world of caring human beings; except for the ones who perpetrated this horrible deed!

Now to tonight we met our cousins at the arcade that they enjoy, but immediately left that parking lot to have an early dinner at a sports bar restaurant across the road from there that you’re all familiar with, and the three out of four of us ordered salads. And they were delish, and the fourth ordered the roast beef mini sandwiches with fries and gravy that my hubby did enjoy also!
After dinner we went back to the arcade to play some high action games that require quick sharp eyes and decision making, and unfortunately, I am lacking in both. But I did spend an enjoyable hour playing with the buttons, hubby went his way and I suppose he had a pleasant time too. We left in not too long a period of time, and arrived back here at a decent time before eight P.M.
We had rather a precarious journey there first the traffic was great due to it being rush hour and then we had a torrential downpour, and topped it all off with the cars ABS light flashing on, and us needing to pull off the road to make sure our brakes were all right.
As you can tell it was after all was said and done.

Good night to all, and to all be safe, please take care and count those blessings and I will too!

Important items in the news

Ellen of the Ellen Show fame has a new job this January, and the only way you wouldn't know what I am talking about is if you lived under a rock, and I take it you don't, right?
No, she didn’t accept a congressional position yet. I bet you do know…she is the new judge for American Idol! Some are questioning her experience in the music industry; well…she claims she has none. Her claim to fame for this particular venture is just plain and simple that she is a fan of the show and will represent us the American fans in that aspect, but has an in with the remainder of the judges, and did a short stint this summer as an associated show “So you think you can dance?”, as a judge for that. PS she will be keeping her daytime gig, so all of her fans can rest easy too.

Below is my comment on the president’s speech about healthcare reform that he presented last night, and that is when I wrote it too, but the channel that said I could comment online… for some reason forgot to leave an opening for me to write this, but as you can see I did save it for all of you, so I am somewhat vindicated.
“Our president, Mr. Obama seems to hear us Americans and that we do need a health care reform bill and comprehensive plan. He appears to listen with true compassion and honesty. I hope it will turn out the way he suggests! Please listen to him in a bi-partisan way America!” stated by me, Tobi.

In addition to this… is that he addressed all stupidity including the supposed inclusion in the healthcare bill of killing of the elderly, and paying for illegal immigrants to be covered by the bill, which were of course ridiculous concepts.

The non regular Joe Wilson, a congressman that called our commander-in-chief a liar during his heartfelt speech has recanted and apologized quickly, what a guy…NOT!
I thought politicos were supposed to have more self control than the mass population, but time and time again they seem to prove otherwise; how sad.

All I ask all Americans is to be better informed with the facts before saying horrible things about our president.

On that pleading note of concern I will bid you all a good night, please take care, and be safe, and count those blessings, and I will count mine too!

This evening we had a pleasant ...

We ate out this evening at one of our usual haunts by the local home store, a healthy soup and salad place, and we had pleasant company too. My retired teacher cousins came down for a first time in a long time and so we had an enjoyable experience with our conversations, catching up, and riding in their new car a silver colored Acura. It is just the right size and comfort also.

I suspect it was all right and agreeable to them as well since they invited us up by them to a casino that they enjoy for this Friday. A friend of theirs has opened his second one, and this one is supposed to look like the ones in Las Vegas that should be interesting.
You see, though unless you are Native American in Florida you cannot have actual gambling, unless you go out past the limit by boat, but the friends is the type where you win prizes and gift certificates, which is allowed in this state.

Right now I am fairly pooped so I will close early and wish you all a good night, and please take care, be safe, and count those blessings and I will too, yep me too! How about that?

Well, good evening... finally!

This has been a hectic 36 hours, since our computer crashed yesterday morning, and it has been a nasty hard recovery for these nearly two days!
But Hubby's diligence and perseverance made tonight happen.

I just wanted to check in and let you know that is why last night I was not here!
Unfortunately, within the last several hours as hard as we tried to salvage the data like the precious other writings of mine as well as the beautiful pictures that we coveted...sadly, they appear to be all gone.
It is a miracle, alas a small one compared to the more interesting and important ones if life, in the respect that we have not had to give up totally and that during this period proving to ourselves just how stick-to-itiveness really can work.Hubby never quit on this, but at times I threw up my hands in overwhelming frustration.
All in all it took his ability of trying harder to succeed to win the war of the computer's not too soon demise and for it to become renewed.

Did you see the presidents' speech to the children today at noon on C-span?
We did; it comes in on our PBS Florida channel.
I thought it was very encouraging for our youngsters, and I do hope that all those qualms that people were concerned about have now been laid to rest!

I am truly exhausted tonight, physically and emotionally, and so I will bid you all a good night, be safe, take care, and count those blessings and I suppose I should too!

Our Marley dog...

I am talking about the famous one of book and movie fame, our little Skipper has somewhat of a reputation of not listening so well in the public arena, and so I affectionately call him a Marley. If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie I will explain encapsulate: he, puppy Marley is a beautiful yellow Labrador with questionable parentage, and so he is the bargain basement one of the litter.
Unfortunately, he is not trainable by any humans including his adoptive Mom and Dad who tend to let him have his way, mostly because he is so lovable in spite of being what any child of the same nature would be called incorrigible. After everything is tried to make him more civilized and all of it fails, many times they really come to terms with this spoiled Childs misbehaving and consider returning him or giving him away. The story goes on about the birth of his three human siblings and their addition to the family too and how they all love him, and they all go through those trials and tribulations that all families do, but in the end he wins the hearts of the family and dies a heart wrenching death at the ripe old age of fifteen stealing their love all the way.

Our Skipper is somewhat of a Marley in nature, but he only misbehaves when non family members are present making them believe that he is always rambunctious, which he is not. He is now five years old and loves to see people but gets a bit wild in their presence. But last Saturday we took him to a 4Paws, a first at our Cultural Center for all our four-footed friends’ type expo, and they were invited to come too, and so we all went.

He does love other dogs and pretty much ignores them when out and about except for subtle hellos. I do believe it was the set up of all the vendors that threw him for a loop, so much action created that the wild child in him that went slightly rogue, and so hubby had to take him out of the building several times to calm down. Oh, you are concerned because I said rogue, not vicious just barking and excited by jumping on his lead, he is never ever vicious just excited. He is a rather handsome specimen too, especially after he has just been groomed, which he had been just days before.
His collar which has always been electric blue has a tendency to fade due to the chlorine in the pool which he does enjoy swimming in, and so when I saw an adorable electric blue nautical style collar on sale there I bought it from the vendor.
And guess what she said after we put it on him?
That if we take a digital picture of him wearing the collar and send it to her by email that he would be one of her models on her site! http://www.ppyluv.com/index.html This is the site, she did keep her promise, and now he is her cover boy for the month too! Our little dog-child or mog, as our younger son used to call his dog, using the combination of man and dog to form the word mog.
Any-who, he is quite the model, but you can see for yourselves.

On that pleasant note I will wish you all a good night and to all be safe, take care, and count those blessings, and I suppose I should too!

Doing everything right for a change and waiting on those benefits to kick in!

They, whoever they are, in this case it is the Heart Association, recommends that all women over fifty get exercise in any of one these forms, dancing, gardening or swimming at least three times a week for a half an hour or more.

Having had dancing lessons for about fourteen years as a child and a lover of all that I did, it was painful for me to be told years ago that was one of the things I would have to give up, it was nearly two decades prior to that, that I was told the same thing about horseback riding; another one of those things that I used to love to do, and I had taken lessons on English saddle for a few years, also as a child. Oh, you are wondering why. My back injuries, and disc bulges, etc. the same theory that if you do those things if will get worse, and if it hurts when you do that, don’t do that!

But water exercise is beneficial for everyone, in any condition, as you have heard me continuously say whenever given the chance. And so as I mentioned that is in my weekly schedule, and now, this morning I incorporated a little bit of gardening too!
It is a little more complicated, but as I have said before where there is a will there is always a way, and I found one.

I requested and enlisted hubby’s help. You see yesterday I felt that the original tomato garden under the sunroom window that was now bare, since the tomato plants had expired, a natural death after producing quite well in their season.

The space looked so sad and empty, and so yesterday I entered the home store with a special mission in mind, and acquired small bedding plants to adorn the space that cried out for some attention.

Oh, hubby’s help? Yes, he moved all the plants, mulch etc. in the back yard on the patio and there I can maneuver myself by holding onto that furniture out there and he also then brought out the rolling garden seat to there as well, and so that they would all be ready for my morning project to get started when it would still be cool, in the low to mid seventies.

This morning I accomplished my mission within a little over an hour all was planted, fertilized and watered. The mulch was to wait till hubby was available, which he was later this same morning and he mulched the new garden and put down the weed preventative as well, and he watered that in too! Now it looks much better and happier. The plants chosen were in the red tones, since I recently learned while watching my beloved PBS TV programs that red flowering plants do not attract Bumble Bees, which I am allergic to, but they will attract butterflies and humming birds, what a good deal I say! Who can argue with that?

I will wish you all a good night, take care, be safe, and count those blessings….mine are coming closer to reality with me helping me, and thinking better and figuring out how to accomplish the things I used to love to do and doing them!