This is what we are left with out of a dish set that was either six or eight place settings.  It was purchased so long ago, I honestly do not remember. I do know that it was very inexpensive.   At the end of my first marriage, when I started over with nothing except me and the kids, I was always looking for a really good deal to set up our new home.  This set of dishes, which I found at a store called Caldor (similar to a Walmart) certainly qualified.   I do not remember what the price tag was, but I know it was cheap.  I found them on an endcap.  I believe it was the last box, they were on sale and while they are probably the most boring dishes every created on the planet, I did not care.  They could have been pink with orange dots and I still would have bought them.

But that was thirty something years ago (please don't make me do the math  - I think it was 35) so I suppose it's not surprising that there are a few chips, some discoloration here and there and a few less dishes than we started out with.   All right, to be fair, it's more than a few less dishes.  We are down to 2 bowls, 4 small plates and 5 large ones.   And I am the one responsible.  

I don't mean "I" as in I declare myself responsible in a kindly intended way of accepting responsibility for what my children may have done.  Mostly because they absolutely did not do it.  I mean "I" because literally I am the one who broke every dang dish that is no longer in this set.

And recently in less than 24 hours, I broke two more.  Dang it all.  

One broke very cleanly in two separate pieces as if it were two perfect puzzle pieces  that were supposed to do that.  It was a bowl. And all I did was take it out of the cupboard and put it on the counter. Seriously, that's all I did.  I didn't slam it on the counter, I didn't throw it on the counter, I didn't even set it heavily on the counter with force.  I merely, opened the door, removed the bowl and gently set it on the counter whereupon I watched as it broke into two even pieces.  One side fell to the left, one side fell to the right as I watched. What the actual hell was that about?  And now we are down to two bowls.

The other dish I broke in far more spectacular fashion.  I was putting dishes away rather than taking them out to begin with.  I had two small plates, one in each hand,  I put the dish in  my left hand on top of the stack first, then went to put the dish in my right hand on the stack and, and, well I don't actually know what happened.  First it was in my hand and then it wasn't. I suppose I dropped it, but I don't remember dropping it.  Just in my hand and then not in my hand.

The plate, again a very small plate only 7 inches across, hit the tile and exploded with a sound that, in a cowboy movie would have caused at least half the town residents to have expired violently.  Tim immediately called out from the other room, "Are you ok?"  'Yes" I answered with a  bit of a snarl, "I'm fine". And then I muttered under my breath, "the dish, not so much".  I was just so annoyed with myself. But I had to set that aside because the kitties were showing great interest and that isn't a good combo.

I'm not sure what it is about crockery or glass, but when it breaks usually, there were bits and pieces far beyond where logic dictates.  I begin to understand why aliens build their space craft in the shape of saucers.  Apparently, it is the most aerodynamic shape possible.  I found bits of that dish not just in the immediate area, but in places that make no sense whatsoever.

There were so very many pieces and in so many different shapes and sizes that it began to seem as though, if I were to painstakingly reconstruct that dish from those bits, the dish would end up much larger than it originally was.  Which is, of course, impossible.

I started, as one does, with the biggest pieces, then the smaller ones that were in my immediate vicinity. One disposed of, I got a broom and began sweeping the area. Over and over I swept the exact same area and with each go ' round, picked up more teensy shards. Then I got a spray bottle of cleaner and some paper towels to be certain I got every little bitty crumb.  Eventually it seemed as if I had gotten it all.  HAH!  

As soon as I put away the spray cleaner and broom, I saw more small pieces under the kitchen table. Sigh.  I got everything back out and cleaned some more.  Then I spied a few tiny bits near the kittyboys food and water dishes.  Ratz.  Fearing that eensy microbits of ceramics may have jumped into their dishes, I dumped them, washed, dried and refilled them.  And while I was at it, completely swept and washed that general area. I did not want them to accidentally ingest any of it. That would be very bad.  But finally, I thought, finally it's done. I put away the broom and the cleaning stuff.  Surely, this time, I was truly done.  Silly me.

As I walked away, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a doggone piece of broken dish in the front hall.  How?  How?  I hauled all of the cleaning paraphernalia  back out and cleaned more.  I swept, I sprayed, I washed, I wiped.  Once finished, I stood, hands on hips and surveyed the area.  First by the sink where I initially bobbled the dish, then the area around the table, next the kitty food area, and lastly the front hall.  At last, "Finished". I said to myself out loud, feeling quite accomplished.  Hilarious.

I put everything away once more and then walked to the bathroom where I found yet more pieces!  ARGH!  Is there a wormhole in my kitchen somewhere that scoots things into other places in the house?  How does a dish dropped in the kitchen by the sink end up with pieces around corners?  It's a small house but it's not THAT small. The bathroom and the entry are in two completely different hallways!

Well of course I cleaned it up. But this time before I put things away, I prowled through the entire house starring at the floor looking for evidence of yet more breakage.  It took two rounds of peering intensely at the floor as I slowly walked through before I was satisfied that I had, most likely, gotten all of it.  And even so warned Tim went he walked in barefoot as always, to be careful.

And as far as the rapidly diminishing number of bowls and plates in the house,  right now, we'll just keep living with it. As long as there are dishes enough for us, we are good.  And when there aren't enough?  Well I suppose at that point we will have to actually do something about it.  and I promise you, that when the day finally does come that the dishes are replaced, I will be looking for something less breakable.  Perhaps something made of steel?  Concrete?  Plastic? Paper? I understand that diamonds are very sturdy.....

It's very likely that you already saw this photo of me that was taken at Joy and Bob's wedding last month.  It is a rare thing: a photo of me that I actually like.  I admit that it is exceptionally flattering.  I don't know if the photographer did some clever editing or if it was just exceptional lighting or a particularly good angle or some combination of all of those elements but it's a decent picture.

The thing you really do not see in this picture tho is how dang grey/silver/white my hair is finally getting!  It's been quite some time since I did a hair update so perhaps today shall be the day!

I'd say that the best description of the current colour of most of my hair would be brown, specifically mouse brown. Very ordinary, very boring.  Not a pretty colour really but my hair is healthy so I suppose that's something. For now it's enough. 

Especially since, as every day passes, I see more and more, of the pretty grey/silver/white all the time.  Well grey isn't pretty. It really isn't. It's a flat, dull cold colour. Bah.  The silver and white, however is gorgeous, shiny, bright and light reflecting!  I love it and am eager for it to completely take over.  Seriously, I am so excited thinking ahead to the day when I am sporting a full head of silvery white disco ball hair!  My hair however, seems to have other plans.

Here, you can see what I mean:  (these photos were taken yesterday)

There is most definitely some salt and pepper going on at the top but mostly it's just boring rodent brown, ho hum.   It 's not all that much different than the last time I posted a hair update.  Or at least that's what it seems at first glance.

But if you look underneath my hair, if I part it differently,  an entirely different story emerges . Especially on the right half of my scalp. Check this out:

Isn't that gorgeous?  Shiny, silky sparkly silver and white!!!  It's looks like Christmas Decorations!  Tinsel Hair!  I honestly love it!  I try now and again, to specifically part my hair so that this is what shows, but my hair resists. My head insists upon a center part and gives me tremendous pushback when I try to do anything else.

The left side of my head, underneath, is not as pretty. And isn't that strange that the right side and the left side would be different?  Gosh I'm strange! Here is the underneath part of the left side by comparison:

The sparklies are in there, you can see them quite clearly, but it's not nearly as densely populated as the right side.  Bizarre.  Is that normal?  Is that how it works for everybody?  I don't know much about hair.

I do know that as my hair becomes more grey/silver/white, some colours no longer suit me.  There was a time, specifically when I was very blonde, that very dark colours such a black, burgandy, grey and navy blue were dynamite on me.  A huge portion of my wardrobe were these sort of wintry dark colours, particularly navy and black.  Of course I really struggle to see the difference between the two colours anyway so to me, it's pretty much the same thing. Black absolutely washes me out, makes me look grey.  Grey makes me look nearly invisible. Which on occasion suits me, to be fair.

All of this leaves me starting over at my advanced age, trying to find out what colours do look good on me now.  It's certainly not the old jewel toned colour palate.  Yikes!  This is gonna take some time and some trial and error.  I will refer to it as research and I think I am going to have to do a great deal of it to figure it all out. I suppose we are never too old to learn new things, try new things, change things up!

Still, for me anyway, there is a certain lack of confidence while clothes shopping now.  Before, for a zillion or so years, I could practically sleepwalk through a shopping trip.  I knew the shape, the general size (women's clothes are woefully inconsistent size-wise) and absofreakinlutely knew the colours to grab.  Nowadays, nope.  The colour thing has me stymied.

I know that lighter and brighter serves me better now but it's the specific shade of lighter and brighter.  For example, I was never really a "pink" girlie but now I find that certain shades of pink do  seem to flatter me.  But not every shade of pink. And unfortunately the one that is most common out there, the Barbie sort of pink, is not a good one.

But I'll  keep looking and trying and learning and hopefully, by the time my hair is completely silver/white I will have figured it out.  In the meantime, of course I am still wearing the clothes I already have. I'm far too practical to get rid of perfectly good clothes that fit just because the colour is no longer flattering on me.  Hopefully by the time the hair is completely turned, I will have worn those old clothes out entirely and I can start fresh.

Something else to look forward to.  It's good to have a goal.

​In the meantime, have a great weekend everybody!

I don't know where every single one of you lives but it seems as if most of the country right now is dealing with some serious wintery weather!  Snow!  Ice!  Plunging temperatures!  All of that super fun winter weather stuff. It's even happening here in Florida.  And yes I am well aware that other states are really being whammed and having lived in very snowy/wintery places before, I sympathize sincerely. We are lucky that, by comparison, our measly temperature drop is nothing at all.

Still, it's not our norm.   People travel here, intentionally, this time of year to get away from the cold. To warm up, lay on the beach in the sun, put on sunscreen, wear shorts and sandals without turning blue with cold in January, is a dream.  But that dream isn't quite as dreamy as our visitors hoped just now.  When Tim and I did our noonwalk yesterday, we couldn't help but notice that there was almost nobody on the beach and the few who braved the chilly wind were hunkered down and wrapped in sweatshirts. I could almost hear their teeth chattering.

I feel badly for them, our guests,  the people that signed on for a nice hot sunny Florida vacation and were kind of duped by Mother Nature.  but weather is like that.  Anyone who vacations anywhere, anytime ever, has to be able to roll with the punches.  Life is like that and vacations even more so.

The locals are not big fans of the chill either, just so you know.  And because those of us who live Florida life 24/365 are more accustomed to hothothot, any significant drop in temperature will create those funny (but very real) memes of people on beaches in puffy coats, hats and mittens.  It's a real thing.  I've been hearing a lot of weather related complaints. As if I were in charge. LOL .  That's hilarious.  If I were in charge there would never ever be another hurricane anywhere.  Clearly I have no power.

But unlike so many of my other fellow Florida Residents, I kind of like this little season of Brisk weather.  It's a very nice change of pace.  I am enjoying having the opportunity to remember how to dress in lightweight layers for maximum toastiness.  I delighted in hauling out long pants and sweaters - it's a whole other and rarely worn wardrobe!  Wearing Socks is like wearing warm hugs!  I had forgotten that.

When Tim and I returned from our chilly walk yesterday, I had rosy cheeks!  Weather created rosy cheeks I should say and quite honestly, it looked good on me. We will not, however, discuss my windswept hair.  Yikes!  That took awhile to comb out.

I find that I sleep a little better on a night when the air around me is cold but I'm snug and warm in my little blanket nest. The kittyboys snuggle with us in the evening on the sofa instead of romping through the house like lunatics.

I cook differently too.  I made a batch of chili on Monday and look forward to having yet another bowl of it for dinner tonight.  It's hearty and hot and fills every crevice - especially when served with corn bread. Yumm.  I never make chili in summer. it would be too hot, too heavy, too wintery.  Stews, Roasts, casseroles and maybe one day soon some home made bread.  Lots of baking happens in colder weather too. Everybody around here is a fan of that!

I even like being on the beach when it's inclement and everyone else is steering clear. For one thing, I'm usually there alone or nearly so, and that is always a treat.  But the beach is different, the water is different, even the air is different when it's cold too.  Cold weather photos almost  always come out crystal clear.  

As it so happens, right this moment it's 66 degrees inside with no windows open and it's 47 degrees outside and a tiny bit breezy.  The breeze is filled with cold damp ocean air which makes it feel even cooler and today's high is predicted to be 57.  I know that's very comfortable compared to the places that are battling single digit temps and even negative numbers, but for us, that's not chilly, that's flat out cold.  And even if you were a visitor to Florida from a more wintery place, you probably only brought summer clothes which are just not sufficient at the moment.  So what you gonna do?

I'll tell you what most people do, they either make an emergency trip to Walmart for cheapo throw-away-able clothes or they visit the shops on the Avenue for better quality, more expensive, more weather appropriate clothes that they can take back home and continue to wear.  Only a very few, super hearty and stubborn souls, wear their summery vacation clothes anyway and walk around all goose bumpy with their hands in their pockets, half folded into themselves and shivering but denying that they are doing so all the while.  Visitors and locals alike are doing their best to stay inside where it's hopefully warmer.

I, on the other hand, am not avoiding being outside.  I bundle up, wear my layers, and walk around in the windy chill, nose running a little bit, cheeks pinkening, eyes watering, trying to absorb every nuance, every element, every miniscule detail so that I can replay it in August when I am so hot that I fear that I will spontaneously burst into flames.  In fact, the only thing I do not especially enjoy about our unusual and colder days lately is stepping out of a nice hot shower or a cozy warm bed barefoot onto a freezing cold tile floor.  Few things are colder than a Florida tile floor on a cold day.   But other than that, I'm good to go.

According to the ten-day forecast, I guess it's going to be cooler than normal around here for awhile longer.   Excellent, I say as I sit here drinking endless cups of hot water to warm me up from the outside in.  I relish the uniqueness and look forward to Joy's and my planned photo safari hike tomorrow which will be teeth chatteringly, shiveringly, cold but fun.  

Here's to the unexpected!  It's good to shake things up a bit once in awhile.  Thanks Mother Nature for a few weeks of cold to remind us how lucky we are to usually have warm.

Howdy do and welcome to 2025.  How's it working out for you so far?

That's Tim and I in the photo by the way

I've packed away 2024 along with the Christmas tree and all of the decorations already.  well, almost all the decorations.  The lights are still up outside because I need help taking them down and since most  of those are either not working at all anymore or flickering in an ominous sort of fashion, once down they will go directly into the trash. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. Which is a shame because they are expensive to replace and two hundred bucks would be kind of nice right about now.  Hoping to find a good after Christmas sale to replace them for next year.

My original plan was to de-Christmasify the house on New Year's Day but I rethought that plan since Tim had the day off and I absolutely didn't want to waste it with chores!  It was an absolutely gorgeously perfect Florida January Day.  Warm, sunny and not humid.  Perfection!  Definitely needed to spend the day outside!  But where?

After tossing a few ideas around we decided to find somewhere photo-worthy but not local.  I'm at those all the time anyway.  So we headed to Sarasota. 

The first stop was BayFront Park which is, as the name suggests, right on Sarasota Bay.  There is still some hurricane season damage that they need to deal with such as the adorable little Tiki Restaurant that is current closed due to storm damage, part of which includes a large sailboat in isn't where it's supposed to be:

A shame :(

But you know what?  The birds aren't bothered a bit by human problems.  There were plenty of birdies to be seen:

This particular park is nestled right alongside a marina and one of my favourite things to do there is to walk around reading the names of boats.  Not sure why but I find it tremendously amusing. Some boat owners are very clever with their name choices. I say "boats' generically.  There are sea going vessels of all shapes and sizes in this marina, including some yachts that are so big they look like floating villages.  The photo at the top of the page, by the way, was of our reflection in the window of one of the gigantic yachts that we saw there!!!

I took a few boats pictures that were rather hohum ultimately but my favourite shots by far was of some boat dogs!  Their owner was hosing off the salt water off them and they were digging it!!

Their absolute unfettered joy was so contagious that Tim and I were both laughing out loud watching!  It would be impossible to have a bad time with those guys!

This first stop gave us the idea to check out some other Sarasota Parks.  We tried to find one that was unfamiliar to us just for the fun of discovery.  Ultimately ended up at one we had never even heard of before called, Payne Park.  Turns out it is 60 acres of skate parks, disc golf, a giant circus themed children's playscape area, ponds, green area and beautiful tree lined paths nestled into the city tucked in beside a church whose bells began to ring as soon as we arrived.  Talk about a welcoming!

We spent some time watching the kiddos with their skate boards, bikes and scooters at the skate park area, and then were content to just wander through the rest of the park walking along those lovely paths.  One of my favourite moments there was watching a little girl on her scooter (not in the skate park but on the sidewalks) wearing a full length, super sparkly blue dress with sneakers and a ball cap.  Over and over she would walk her scooter to the top of a hill and the hitch up her long dress to step onto the scooter and push off before 'flying' down the hill.  She was pretty awesome.

Some random photos from the park:

We had a lovely time visiting these parks, both the old and the new and now have a plan to discover more parks that are new to us, not just in Sarasota but everywhere else we go!  Why haven't we done this before?  It was a great way to spend New Year's Day and a great start to the new year!

Hope yours was absolutely wonderful too!

​Have a terrific weekend!  

Well this is it, my friends. The very last day of 2024.  As is every year, it was a journey and what a long, strange trip it's been as the Grateful Dead observed.

Like lot of folks, I kind of take stock as a year winds to a close. I make it a point to step back a bit and do an overview of the past 365 days. What were the wins?  The losses?  The highs and lows?  What did I accomplish? What changes do I need to make?  What could I have done or said that I didn't?  What did I do or say that I wish I hadn't?

Like everyone else, I have remarkably little control as I navigate my way through it all.  Life just happens.  It's how we deal with what happens that defines who we are. So those are the things I try to focus on.  Was I the best version of myself in that moment?  

I guess I see it as an opportunity to take an honest evaluation of myself and give myself a bit of a fine tuning, an attitude adjustment here and there.  How can I improve?  Not as a resolution. I don't do that.  That's just setting myself up to fail and frankly, I don't need that.  But more as setting small goals for myself, ways to be a better version of myself. And a brand spankin' new year, fresh out of the box, is a terrific time to make yet another, new start.

You don't see the difference between a resolution and a more of a fine tuning?  Well the way I   see it,  most resolutions are declarations. I like the positive attitude, I do.  It's strong and it's intentional and bold!  "I will lose 10 lbs", "I will go to the gym every morning", "I will give up sugar", "I will read a book a week". Well that last one I can probably do with no problem, but I know me.  And I know that however well intended, I know the rest aren't going to happen. Or at least they aren't going to happen for very long.  and then I will have failed and failed publicly which is somehow worse.  It's not bad enough that I know I failed, but now everybody knows.  Dang.

I suppose the folks who do that, make such fearless statements are hoping that their conviction is enough and perhaps the public nature of such declarations will help their surrounding community keep them on course.   Good luck to them.  I am impressed by their audaciousness, truly.   But facts are facts and the fact is that studies indicate that only 9% of people who make New Years Resolutions actually keep them.    Big Yay to that paltry 9% (assuming they didn't lie of course) but it's about what I expected. 

My little tiny goals are gentler, more forgiving and easier to keep.  Things like, I will try to eat better, I will make a sincere attempt to exercise more, I will truly make the effort to listen more and talk less. Things of that nature.   And it seems to work for me.  It's like a little Jiminy Cricket on my shoulder reminding me when I reach for that cookie, "Seriously, Sam, a 3rd cookie?"  And I at least consider not eating it.  Sometimes I go ahead and eat it anyway, other times I don't.  But it's the fact that now and again I actually don't. that encourages me.

I can sit back and smugly tell myself, "Look at you, resisting a cookie...awesome job!"  And I feel pretty good about myself in that moment.  The truth is that the next time I might continue to resist successfully and I might not but in that one moment, I succeeded and that in itself is a win.  A small one, granted, but a win nonetheless.  and couldn't we all use more of those!

Or, far more importantly, if I have a moment where I am very strong in the face of adversity, which is not my nature at all, I am so proud of myself.  When I have the courage of my convictions, when I politely and quietly stand strong regardless of who is telling me that I am wrong, I feel so good about myself. No screaming confrontation necessary, thank you. Just a quiet conviction.

For me it's not so much the big stuff in my life but the small moments, like, for example,  if I manage to shut the heck up and let someone else talk while I actively listen, I am so pleased.  Pleased that I was able to provide my friend that space to vent safely, pleased that my friend felt better afterwards, and pleased that I succeeded in doing what I hoped I would do.  Yay me!  There very likely will be other situations where I could have done a better job of it and didn't and shame on me for that.  I know I need to do better, try harder.  

2024 was a crazy year. There were some wonderful moments of great joy and terribly tragic moments of unbelievable sadness.   There were times of great ordinariness and scary battles with Mother Nature showing us her worst.  Yet here we are, still standing.   I hope I was my best self through all of them, but I know that I can always do better.

And that's my plan for 2025.  Same as every year. That I keep trying to be a better version of myself.  

Let's all hope that no matter what 2025 has in store for us all, we come through it stronger, smarter and kinder.  Let's vow to not let the bad times change us into people that we don't want to be and the good times keep making us better than we are.

Happy New Year Wishes to you all!

Hugs all 'round

December 18th, historically, was a busy day, an important day!  I suppose that at least one noteworthy things happens on every day of every year, but today we are specifically discussing outstanding events on one particular day.  Here are just a few of the most significant things that happened on various December 18ths .   For example:

In 1620 the Mayflower docked in Plymouth Harbour for the first time

1777  saw the first National Thanksgiving

1799 was the date that our first president, George Washing died at Mt Vernon

In 1966 we saw the first successful deployment of the rover Sojourner on planet Mars!

And of course in 1994, Tim and Sam got married

And then, in 2024, this year, Joy and Bob got married too

Wait, What?  Joy and Bob got married??

SURPRISE!

  How cool is that?? 

After 30 odd years of adventures together, they decided to have yet another adventure and tied the knot, officially.  

It was an absolutely lovely wedding too.  They married at the charming St Francis Inn in historic St Augustine on a perfectly gorgeous day in front of the Christmas Tree in the parlour.  Mary, a wonderful woman who works at the St Francis, was the officiant and the witnesses were Tim and I and Joy's younger daughter, Stacy and her hubby, Shane.  (and Joy's eldest daughter, Carrie, via FaceTime).

The girls all sparkled and the gentlemen looked snazzy.  Spirits were high, the decor very seasonal. The vows were both simple and sincere.

Afterwards we took some photos and were offered cake and champagne to celebrate!   The cake by the way was excellent, days later, I was still raving about the frosting. ​

It was perfection.

​I'll share a few photos from the Happy Day!

 A little side story, I asked Joy what she would like us to wear to her wedding and she said, "well be comfortable but dress up a bit and try to be christmassy". So I wandered through my closet and was dismayed to learn that I own nothing 'christmassy' and actually very little dressyuppy anymore as there are just not a lot of dressy uppy occasions in my life these days.

I had half decided to wear a pair of black slacks that I often wear to the museum and a nice blouse. Afterall, a wedding day is about the bride and groom, not the guests so it really didn't  matter so much what I chose to wear.

But when Joy asked what I had decided to wear, I, jokingly, told her that the most Christmassy thing I owned was a pair of Christmas PJ's.  She laughed and said she was fine with us wearing those.  LOLOL  Ultimately, she loaned me one of her own dresses, which was red and sparkly and looked a wee bit like a Christmas tree. It was super comfortable (which came in especially handy for the long drive to St Augustine) and that was exactly what I wore.​

'Tis four days before Christmas
and I've just realized
The Christmas chores are done
I can't believe my eyes!

No more shopping or writing 
or wrapping to be done
No more crowds, no more worries
it's time now for fun

I'm not sure how it happened
at all, I confess
Perhaps Christmas Magic at work
as a guess

So now is the part
where we get to sit back
relax and enjoy
knowing the fact

that the rushing is over
the lists and the chores
that precedes each Christmas
as it shall evermore

I love every moment of Christmas
to be fair
That fact that it gets frantic
is neither here nor there

We are now at the point
of this Christmas time
and in fact the reason
for this silly rhyme

To quote the best
as is good and is right
"Merry Christmas to all
And to all A Good Night"


PS Get ready for a really exciting and fun post Next Week before Christmas!!

Oh My Goodness!  Just two weeks from today is Christmas Day!  That's only 13 tiny little days to get done, everything that needs to be done before Santa Arrives.  Wow!  I don't know about you, but I confess to being a little panicked!  Will everything be ready in time?  It'll be a nail biter for sure and come down to the last seconds most likely.

I'm not sure why either.  Yes yes, there was one less week this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas and that's probably part of it, but only a small part.  I know people who are so organized and on top of things that they have their shopping DONE by end of summer.  Holy Cats!  I'm not that person.  Which is odd I suppose, because, for the most part, I am a very organized person and I do love a good plan.

But with Christmas, I cannot even begin thinking getting ready for  Christmas  until the holiday spirit and mood are upon me.  And sometimes - like maybe this year - the spirit is somewhere else.  I'm not sure where it landed but I hope whoever that person is, they are enjoying it coz I'm just not feeling it. 

I'm trying, though, I swear, I'm trying.  I've been ho ho ho-ing and singing Christmas carols.  The tree is up and other decorations are sprinkled here and there.  I faithfully open my Advent Calendars one door a day and the shopping is in process.  Just a few little odds and ends and it will be finished.  And that will be a relief.  One big to-do scratched off the list!

Shopping was rough this year.  First of all everything cost so much!  Even tiny little silly things had prices jacked to high heaven.  We have a Christmas Budget. I suppose everyone does.  And it's even a Per Person budget.  We stick to our budget because that's just the sort of people we are. 2024 was an unexpectedly expensive year so the budget was tighter and even more  important than usual.  At the same time, nobody wants to be known as the Christmas Pooper.  That one person who gave the crappiest gifts.  Nobody wants that award.  I know we don't.

And that was the second thing.  Most of the time I start out shopping with ideas for everybody on my list. Even if it isn't a specific item, it's a general idea that is a great place to start.  This year I had no ideas. None. Not one single thought.  The brainbasket was empty. Highly unusual.  So I had to wander.  I walked through an endless string of stores and then online, with each people in mind, and hoped like crazy that something - anything - would strike my fancy.  

And then, worse, I boobytrap myself with doubt.  Is it the right choice?  Should I get this?  Will they like it? I second guess and third guess and wander around the store with things in my hand and then put them back and then pick them up again. Oh dear, Oh dear.  Nothing seems right and nothing is ever good enough to express how much I adore these people.  It can be agony to shop with me. And very stressful for everyone; me, the poor long suffering person shopping with me, the people who work in the store and I'm sure anyone in ear shot of me talking about why an idea is/is not the right one.

But soon that part will be done.  And once the gifts are purchased and wrapped and given, then I don't have to stress about buying gifts anymore.  No.  After that I will torture myself with my prediction of their reaction to the gift.  I am merciless when it comes to me. 

Then will come the cards, (not done yet, but it's on the list!) and eventually a little baking. Very little this year, but still, there will be something baked. AND if it comes out good, I will share it.  If it comes out bad you will never know because I'll throw it out and try again.  Gotta have something to share with the neighbors. It's tradition. And that's stupid too because I'm sure they would understand that my hand isn't fully recovered from the injuries incurred from the tumble I took in t he forest and right now, baking is tricky for me.  But I will make myself at least try try try.

So you see, I do it to myself.  Nobody says, "here is the list of things you MUST do". I "should" on myself all day, every day, especially during the holidays and I know it is ridiculous. I'm  probably not alone.  I cannot possibly be the only person on the planet who does this sort of thing.  There are probably legions of us!  All so emotionally exhausted by the seasons end that we want to hibernate like bears for awhile while we heal.

It's kind of crazy really.  So my wish to you is, wherever you are in the holiday preparation process, be kind to yourself.  Try to remember to relax and enjoy the holiday.  The most important things, somehow, magically, will get done.  Anything that didn't get done, probably wasn't all that important.  

So if you are bombarding yourself with Shoulds during these last two weeks before Christmas Remember, Step One, Breathe, Step Ttwo, Breathe again.  And try to enjoy your holiday.

PS Note to self, breathe!!

I was raised to believe in the importance of giving back.   Donating money, absolutely.  Donating food, clothes, books, for sure!  But donating time too.  And that's the element that is most lacking.  Everybody is so very busy, genuinely busy, in their lives that it's hard to carve out time to help out especially on a regular basis.    It's a real thing and I'm not faulting anyone for their lack of time.  Or choosing to do things other than volunteering in what little free time you have available.  I truly do understand and support that.

But for those of us with the time and desire to do so, volunteering is a big part of our lives.   And the organizations where we volunteer our time, energy, talent and abilities are eternally grateful for us.  Many of these organizations simply would not exist without their volunteers. And that would be a terrible shame.

I suppose it's worth nothing that as much good as volunteers do in their community, it makes us feel just as good to help out. To make a difference in other people's lives gives such a sense of purpose!  I'm doing good just by volunteer my time.  Helping you is, essentially, also helping me!

I've been doing volunteer work of one sort of another for a very long time.  At one time I  created an English as a Second Language program for an elementary school, as a volunteer.  I've taught beginner piano, just for the pleasure of introducing children to learning music.    I've tutored, edited and encouraged all levels of all sorts of writers for a very long time now.    

At one time I was a literacy volunteer at the local library.  I worked at a food bank & assistance program and I've worked as a docent at two different museums.  I've loved each of these volunteer positions and, luckily,  they loved what I did for them as well.

But now I'm going to complain a little bit.  I would apologize in advance but I am not sorry about what I am going to say.  In the paragraph above I wrote that I worked at these positions and I'm finding that I get blowback from a lot of different sources over my use of that word.  Worked.

I've heard, 'you cannot work as a volunteer' , 'it's not work if you aren't getting paid',   'you cannot call it work if it's not a real job" and many other things like that.  Apparently the issue is the use of the word work relative to a non-paid position.

Just so you know, I  did look up the definition of the word "work" and here it is:

"activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result"

It says nothing about payment or contracts. It does not differentiate between a "real job" and a  "volunteer job".  So.  Volunteer positions are work.  It's valid.  And I assure you that while I am busy with my volunteering, whatever it may be, I am indeed working.   I take it seriously.  I am giving my all,  I am doing my best.  Sometimes I am hauling, lifting and climbing.  Sometimes I am doing research or answering questions or educating.   Volunteers are absolutely involved in mental and or physical effort to achieve a purpose or results. You betcha!  That's what we do.

In various volunteer positions, I was crunching numbers,  keeping the books straight, attending meetings, representing my organization out in the community and even appearing in TV ads.   I've spent hours on the phone, doing meet and greets, attended conferences,  and created Policies and Procedures.  I've helped to secure countless grants to keep organizations afloat, sat at the bedside of dying people and conducted endless tours.  All as a volunteer.

When I am volunteering, I am working.  Please understand that it is a labour of love but it is still work. The only difference between your work and mine is that I don't get paid for mine and I am not contractually obligated to anything.  That's it.  It's honestly the only difference. 

I'm done being denigrated for calling what I do work.  It is work.   Please do not look down on those of us whose work is volunteerism.  We are hard at our work, just like you.  And our work is important. Just like yours.

end of rant, thank you ;)

As you can see the Christmas Tree is up and decorated.  Before Thanksgiving?   Yes.  We took a look at the calendar and were shocked at the realization of how little time there is until Christmas.  So much to do and so little time in which to get it all done!  

Today, November 26th is less than a month until Christmas Day!  Yikes!  We are only 2 days away from Thanksgiving and right now just  4 days outside of December.  Holy Cats!  Then, just to make things more interesting, somehow, nearly every weekend day between now and Christmas is already spoken for.  What the what?  Not quite sure how that happened, but there it is.  Things seem ot have gotten away from us so in a desperate attempt to get control back, we put the tree up over the weekend.

There was a little trepidation with regard to the kittyboys.  As you may, or may not, recall, last year they were so excited about the tree that they literally broke it.   They loved the tree to death.  We were smart enough to only put unbreakable ornaments on it (thank goodness) because every night they undecorated the tree.  Every morning I redecorated it.  We had to pluck errant kitties out of the tree repeatedly and despite our explanation of how they are not fruit and therefore do not belong in trees, they persisted.  After Christmas once the decorations were safely repacked away, we threw out the broken tree.

To be fair it was a super cheapo tree.  We bought it on sale at Big Lots and I believe that it was the cheapest tree of it's size anywhere and it's longevity actually surpassed our expectations even without cats as part of the equation.   We bought it our first year here and as we were fully invested in the myriad renovation projects that our (at the time) new to us home required, we spared very VERY little for a tree.  The old tree was never intended for the weight of, even at that time, 6 month old kitties frolicking amoungst its branches. 

So this year, buying a new tree, had us debating.  what if the boys haven't grown out of the Christmas Tree destructo phase?  We didn't want to invest a great deal of money in a  tree that may or may not survive the season.  On the other hand, what if they behaved like perfect little kitty gentlemen and leave the tree alone?  We didn't want to be stuck Once Again with a crapppola tree for years to come.  Decisions decisions decisions.

So we checked out all of the local places that might possibly have fakeyfake Christmas  trees at a variety of sizes, shapes, colours and price tags.  We saw many!!!  And one of the first things we learned was that, much like everything else, the cost of Christmas trees -even artificial ones - has skyrocketed.  Dang.  Well it is what it is so we ended up with one that wasn't the cheapest one available but also not the most expensive. We came home and set it up and left it undecorated just to see what those little fellers were going to do.

Turns out that after sniffing it thoroughly, they have mostly left it alone.  Well Wyatt did have to be reminded a time or two that Christmas tree lights are not edible.   Brysco mostly just likes to lay underneath it. And they both love to just gaze at it at night when the lights are on.  Great!  So next up was decorating.  All those enticing little bits and bobs just dangling, practically begging a kitty to play with it.

To be on the safe side, once again, we put Only Unbreakable ornaments on the tree and no garland.  More kitty sniffing followed shortly thereafter.   To our great surprise, they have mostly left it alone.  We have seen a few paws tentatively touching, but very gently.  I have picked up exactly 4 ornaments now and replaced them which, compared to last year, is nothin'.  We did have to to get after Wyatt a few times when he insisted that the tree lights were edible and we insist even more firmly that they are not.  Once we saw a few branches bobbing rapidly but never saw which kitty was the culprit.  Still, especially compared to last year, we are impressed with their maturity and restraint.

 Things went so well with the tree that I went ahead and very bravely put up a few other house decorations and those have been completely ignored. I mean not even kitty sniffs!  Maybe they haven't noticed them yet?  Not sure what it's all about but it seems as if the decorations are safe. At least so far.  It's quite the departure from last year's and I'm not sure I fully trust it yet. But, what's life without risk eh?  The tree is up and decorated, the house is as decorated as it's going to get and we are ready for the next thing on the gotta-do list!

In case you are interested, here are some of the other decorations:

oh and one more photo, this is Brysco absolutely mesmerized by the lights on the tree.  Totally get that one.  I feel the exact same way.

​Anyway, Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day on Thursday and we'll catch up next week!  Hope your Turkey Day is fun and delicious!

I have no idea what Joy and I were looking at  in this photo but we seem to be deeply interested in whatever it was. hah!

This will be a short post, just FYI.

​Last week, we bundled up a bit and headed out hoping for a few good photos!  Sooo yup, another Photo Safari Report.   I will call this one the No Botannicals hike because truly there were not, which is unusual.  Actually as it was very breezy and chilly, we really didn't see much by way of birds either.  There was one very brave (or stupid) butterfly that was so buffeted by the wind that he couldn't get a grip on anything and was just tumbling through the air.  Poor thing.  But it was still a good time,  as always.

We headed to Lemon Bay Preserve once again, hoping that we would finally see the eagles that we kept hearing about.  The trail near the nest is of course closed so they aren't unduly disturbed but it's such a wet mucky trail anyway, that I cannot imagine too many people even trying.

I'll share what I got though it wasn't really impressive.   To our surprise, from a distance we did finally see one of the eagles who was perched near the new nest. He or she was just barely peeking over a pine branch heavy will sprills.  They are unmistakeable! 

One of my favourites was a family (or perhaps families?) of Ibis in the water of a creek. 

Saw a giant woodstork in a tree glaring at us.  How dare we??  (not sure exactly what it is that we did but we did promise to never do it again!)

I did capture a small variety of other birds as well. Honestly not too many.  Some still at Lemon Bay and a few others at the Rookery which we stopped by on the way back.

As this is Thanksgiving week and therefore kind of a strange and busy week, we will not be hiking so there will be no Photo Safari Report for a little bit. But I will be writing about other things for sure!  

Hope you enjoyed the No Botanicals Hike and please stay tuned.  Who knows what I may write about tomorrow??

Want to talk cars for a minute or two?  I only have enough knowledge about cars really to carry a conversation about them about that long, heh.

The above car is my ride.  Originally it was some unknown person's car, then it was Tim's and now it's mine.  Most of the time it gets me where I need to go and that's all I need in a vehicle.  We all know that I don't enjoy driving and therefore do it as little as possible.  Usually once a week to the grocery store, occasionally to the museum, the vet or  the library.  Once a year to my Primary Doctor's office for my annual appointment.  That office is actually off island (gasp!) and it is the One and ONLY time every 365 days that I drive over the bridge, white knuckling it the entire time.  The rest of the time, I walk.  I like to walk and since we are lucky enough to live in a place where so any things are walking distance, I take good advantage of it.

The car is about 18 years old, bless it's little combustion engine, but obviously this Ford has a lot of heart because it's still doing it's job which, again, is all that I require.  But given it's age, there is some maintenance that has to happen now and again, and that happened just a couple of weeks ago.  I was sitting at a red light and while waiting for the green, happened to notice the sticker in the upper left hand corner of the windshield that had the date of my cars last oil change.  I won't tell you how long ago it was. Suffice it to say, that it was embarrassing.  Though honestly, as little as I drive, I'm not sure how often an oil change really needs to happen.  

How can I explain how little I drive? Hmm.  Let's see.  Well the gas tank gets filled about once every three months ish.  Sooooo not often.  Anyway, so I made an appointment very locally (on island) for the oil change, prepared myself to hear the speech about doing it more often, and duly delivered the auto in question on said day at said time.   They promised to change the oil, filters if needed, check tires and whatever else happens at normal intervals.   Tra lalala  I went about my day expecting to get a call at some point that the car was ready to roll.

Oh a call came all right, but it was not good news.  Not only did the car need new brakes desperately  but also new tires.  They weren't just bad, they were devastatingly bad.  So that was a very expensive oil change. Yikes!

   Obviously I am not a good car owner.  I am very bad at car maintenance. Which is odd because in general I am a good care giver.  I took excellent care of my children and I continue to take good care of Tim.  And with the Kittyboys,  they get their exams, nail trims and vaccines  as needed.  If medication is necessary it is duly delivered.  I dole out healthy food and instigate exercise,  playtime and cuddles  in equal amounts.  I take good care of our house and my potted plants and lovingly nuture relationships that matter to me.

The car, on the other hand, is just not something I ever think about unless I need to drive somewhere.  I guess I put it in the category of this silly thing that I bought about 7 years ago for Joy's birthday.  It's a little Happy Birthday dodad that lights up!  Joy and I have been passing it back and forth for years now on each other's birthday and even though I've never changed the battery and at this moment couldn't even tell you exactly where it is (so obviously I'm not coddling it) every time we hit that "on" button, it lights up and blinks and flashes  in a generally obnoxious  happy birthday sort of way.  I suppose how I treat cars too.  Shame on me.

I don't' even wash my car.  It's lives outside and it rains often enough that it gets a good rinse on a regular basis.   I am not inside of it long enough or often enough to junk up the inside either so the interior is practically pristine.  I know  people who faithfully, loving detail their vehicles weekly.  I admire them, but I am not them. 

This bad car attitude, auto negligence perhaps, is not new to me.  I have been this way with every car I've ever owned.   From the first car I ever bought - which was a very bottom of the line Fiat I purchased in college that didn't even have a radio in it  - to my favourite big blue Jeep which I actually choose myself - to the car I currently drive (whenever I have no other choice) I am very lassez-faire.  I would say shame on me again, except that in this case I actually feel no guilt at all.  Which is very odd because in general I feel guilty about everything all of the time.  But only from July 9th 1953 forward.  Anything before that date (my literal birthday) is on somebody else.

Cars to me are a means to an end.  When I am feeling kindly disposed toward them, I at least appreciate them as a mode of transportation.  When I am not being as kind, I refer to them a necessary evil.  They are expensive to purchase, to maintain, to fuel and to insure.  I am very uncomfortable behind the wheel and honestly do not wish to put in the energy required to wash and wax and whatever else a car might need to look sharp.  I honestly just don't care about them.  I am a terrible person.

In general I think most cars these days look pretty much the same. I have to find the little emblem to know who the manufacturer is.  There is no pizazz like cars of the past.  No flair, no fun, no snazz.  I still wouldn't enjoy driving it, but at least an older car, like an old Chevy Bel Aire for example, had some style so it had visual interest.  Nowadays they are fuel efficient  and very very safe, which are both very good things I know, but dang it has made for some boring cars.

I'm sure, if you are a car person, you will tell me that cars look nothing alike now and to your educated and interested eye, it is absolute truth.  But to my jaded and ignorant eye I see only a few types of cars now.  Sedans, convertibles and SUV's.  And to me, everything in each of the categories looks remarkably similar.  And I know it's very superficial of me to make how cars look to be a big deal. I would apologize but as I said earlier, I don't care enough to bother.

How I wish I could say that I learned my lesson and that from this point forward I will pay far more attention to my vehicle and not let it fall as far behind in it's care as I obviously did this time ' round.  But that would be a lie and I don't like to lie.  

And that's kind of the end of car talk from me

Yahoo, I'm back online!   For those of you who didn't happen to see the post of explanation, I was having some terrible computer issues for about two weeks.  It was a constant struggle to get online and then stay online.  Initially I attributed it to post hurricane gnarliness (which was I'm sure at least a part of the issue) but as time went by and it not only didn't get better but started to get worse,  I had to call in the big guns.  That is, Tim.  at that point my computer had literally locked me out.  I kept getting a message saying that my password was incorrect.  It was not incorrect.  But ok, I'll play your little game and change the password, no big deal.   And then it decided that my email was incorrect.  It is not incorrect.  Annoying and baffling, both!  The few times I was able to actually get into my computer, within a very few minutes it was default to first a pink screen, then a green screen and eventually, the white screen of death.  Oh dear.  Tim did his due diligence and the diagnosis was - terminal.  Oh dear, so sad.  And worse, so expensive. Dang.  But here I am now, back with a new computer and all is, once again, well with my world.

I had a number of ideas for blogposts while I was on a forced blog vacation but I thought for my first one after a bit, I ought to do the Photo Safari Post because it was almost two weeks ago now and I'm beginning to forget!   Soo very quickly, while I still have two active braincells, here we go with the Gloomy Day Hike.

It was indeed a very gloomy day,  so grey and dank in fact, that a few times we got sprinkled but not full on rain so we kept going.  We are intrepid like that.   I had to add light to nearly every photo so just fyi, every single picture I'll post here has been edited but mostly just to lighten them a bit.

As is not unusual on such a weather weird day, mostly what we saw was birds.  Birds don't much care about the weather.  They live outside so I guess for them it's just another day.  Thank goodness for us or we'd have no photos whatsoever!

I'll do a few smallish groups so you aren't overwhelmed by long slideshows.  Here is the first group.  The most unusual is the large group of vultures which by the way, is called a Committee.  I can see why!
​

Second group.  Those roseate spoonbills are just the bees knees, especially on a grey day:

Last batch of birds:

Ready for a change of pace?  How about a few botannicals?

And then perhaps a few random things that don't really fit into any other category:

And then my favourite shot of the entire day, mostly because it's unique, something I've never captured before.................The County Sheriff's airboat in action!

I guess that about does it.   It's possible that I forgot something but, oh well.  Meanwhile, I hope, for the first time in two weeks, you enjoyed the Gloomy Day Hike Photo Safari Report!

I promise, the next post will NOT be of a hike (though there will be more of those to come - I promise that too)

Hope everyone is doing great!  hugs all 'round  from Joy and I
(Joy on the left, my hand on the right )

Happy November 1st!  It's a whole new month!  And as we edge toward what little is left of 2024, how about another Photo Safari Report?

Still working with limited options of where to hike post hurricane, Joy and I drove to Lemon Bay Preserve. We were correct in assuming that there would be wet spots that would curtail our endeavors boooo!  It prevented us from finding the eagles which had once again been reported in the area. This super mucky and wet trail heads toward that section.  Dang.  We saw no eagles.

But Luckily there were enough other dry, or at least dry enough, trails to keep us happy and occupied

Not positive what the reason was, but mostly what we saw is birds. Birds birds and more birds! Wow!  Obviously, therefor this will be the Lotsa Birds Hike.  If you are not a fan of birds, this would be the part where you exit and do something else for a few minutes because most of today's photos will involve birds.  Not all, but mostly.

It wasn't just the sheer quantity of birds that we marveled at, and we did!  It was also the wide variety of types of birds.  Awesome.  There were times when we could just stand in one spot cameras up, shooting, and every shot was of a different kind of bird. It was weirdly wonderful.

​Here's some of the birds we saw:

And then of course there were also these guys :

Hard to believe but there were even more birds than this, I either just didn't manage to get a decent shot or I was too busy admiring and forgot to snap.  It happens.

​Saw the cutest bunny while we were out though:

Unusual for me, I didn't take a lot of botanical shots.  I guess I was so mesmerized by the birds that I forgot to keep an eye out for them.  Between looking up to find birds and looking down to make sure I don't trip over anything, my time is fairly divided as it is, y'see.  Heh.  But here are the few I actually did capture along with a butterfly and a squirrel coz I had no other category to put the squirrel in.

oh and one butterfly (or moth?) wing. Just the one.  So sad  but so beautiful

That about does it for this Photo Safari Report.  Hope you enjoyed the Lotsa Birds Hike because we surely did!  Hope to have some new and different photos for you soon :)  

​Meanwhile, have a Great weekend! Do something fun!

Boo!  heh

I find it so hard to believe that some people are afraid of black cats.  Perhaps it's the association with Halloween?  I have heard grown adults tell me that black cats are demons, and they were absolutely serious when they said it.  I wonder where they get that idea? 

It's kind of silly because the whole black cat as a representation of a holiday was specifically created, though not the holiday you think.  What we call Halloween was originally Samhain, a Celtic Harvest Festival a Very, Very long time ago. Samhain was celebrated from sunset October 31st to sunset November 1st.   According to ancient Celtic legend, a Black Cat called Sith - a large black cat with a white spot on his chest, blessed households that left him a saucer of milk.  (the treats we give out today I would imagine).  Those who did not participate were offered dire curses instead of blessings (which would be the trick).

Then in the 9th century, the Western Christian Church merged their All-Saints Day with Samhain resulting in something a little closer to the Halloween that we know today.  But the black cat as a witch's familiar?  Where the black cats get their bad reputation?

Well in the 13th century, Pope Gregory the IX issued "Vox in Rama" that forever glued together the concept of Black Cats and superstition.  Vox in Rama was a papal edict condeming devil worship. All fine and good except in one particular Luciferian cult lore, one of his demons was able to appear as a black cat.  And thus, it began.  Those dang devil worshippers ruin everything.

For some reason of all of the nonsense this cult spouted, this one thing, the image of a black cat was the one thing that stuck in people's mind and suddenly any black cat was instantly dubbed as evil.  Eventually it spread to include any cat, but especially black ones.  

This imagery hung on through the witch trials in Salem, a particularly unfortunate chapter in our history but eventually, by the 1800's people began to shake off this notion and the ignorance surrounding it although sadly, it persisted for, literally, Centuries.  Geez People.

Even now in 2024, the sad truth is that black cats are usually the last to be adopted from shelters.  And I absolutely do not understand.  Brysco and Wyatt, black cats both, are the sweetest, dearest, goofiest cats we've ever had.  I promise you that the scariest thing about either of them, is how much we love them.

This is Brysco by the way in the photo walking behind the Halloween card that my Colorado friend, Jan, sent to me.  I happened to have my camera in my hand and snap!  There you go!   And I promise you there is nothing frightening about Brysco.   As Halloween cats go, he's actually more scaredy cat than scary cat, so you have nothing to fear from this guy.  But we both wish you a Happy Halloween!

Be safe and have fun!

Did you ever see signs like this as you drive through a neighborhood that is at least a little unfamiliar to you.  And then maybe did you then wonder about the view and think about how nice it would be to have a really spectacular view out your own window?  Yeah.  I think a lot of us do that.  And it doesn't even matter if it's a pond, a lake, a river or the ocean.  Water is water. Unless I suppose the water in questions is a water treatment plant. Nobody wants to see that.   

anyway, those houses, the ones with the terrific water views always come at a bigger price tag too.  Sometimes LOTS bigger. I get it.  Most of us have views of our own backyards or the back of the neighbor's house.  I have lived in places where the views were of a parking lot and an alleyway, so I kind of understand the higher cost associated with a better view.

​But sometimes that "water view" is rather broadly interpreted.  You already know that Tim and I enjoy going to model homes and open houses and around here anyway, lots of times the water view is of a "fake lake" in a development which is fine.  Even a manmade lake is pretty and attracts wildlife.  Usually, they have pretty plantings around it and that's lovely.  My objection is that in order to view that pretty lake, you sacrifice some privacy.  I see, not only the lake, but also the backyards of the neighbors on either side AND everyone across the lake. They aren't that big generally so it isn't all that far.  I suppose after awhile, you get used to being on display all the time?

Other times the "water view"  is a real natural body of water but it can only be viewed off the left side of the balcony if you peek between two other houses.  Still counts as a water view and they can and do hike the price because of it.  

I get it.  It's wonderful peaceful beautiful thing to be able to see a body of water right from your own home.  It is listed with the home as an asset right up there with newly renovated kitchen and bathrooms and 3 car garage.

Even though this house that we live in right now wasn't listed as having a water view when we bought it, we actually do have one.  Technically, I suppose, we have two.  Tim claims that if you climb up to the roof (which I am absolutely NOT going to do) there is a great view. Not of the gulf but of the bay which is behind us.  Since I have never (and will never) be on the roof to check it out I can only take Tim's word for it. He has never lied to me so I absolutely believe him just have never seen it myself. 

However!  There is one vantage point in our house where I can see the bay.  If I stand in the shower of our bathroom and look out the window (yes there is a window in our shower) at first I see our backyard:

and of course, part of the family room and the back door (and the sandbags that we aren't quite ready to get rid of yet, just in case) But more importantly, if I look over the back fence, I can see through the car port of the house behind us and there it is, a little snippet of Roberts Bay.

The dead vines on the fence by the way were honeysuckle that were beaten unto death by the storm.  It will heal and return eventually. But we are talking about water views and that is absolutely water and a few boats and a little bit of a waterfront condo but the water part is the important part or so I'm told.   

A wee bit closer?  Sure!

Technically, we have a waterview.  From the shower in our bathroom.  Oddly, probably due to my lack of height, I cannot see the water if I'm just say, standing in front of the bathroom sink.  Nope I can only see it from the shower. I suppose that normally heighted people can see it from anywhere in the bathroom.

The family room, which as you can clearly see, juts farther into the yard, and does NOT share this view.  It must be a line of sight thing. Because since it's closer to the fence, it seems as if you should have a better view of the water. But nope.  

If we took down the fence (or if it fell down or a storm removed it), I can only image that we would have a bigger water view?  Maybe?  Or perhaps it would still just be the little peekaview through the carport just without the fence.

I wonder, should the day ever come that we want to move, could we list the house as having a water view?  Not the roof one, that's a given. The bathroom window one.  I mean, does that count?

On the other hand, I'm not positive that right now with the hurricane season being so recent that mentioning water at all is a good idea.  Yeah, I think for now, we'll just keep this bathroom window peekie to ourselves.

What with hurricanes, sick cats and all the other stuff going on it's been 3 long weeks since I've done a proper Photo Safari Report! Oh My Gracious!  I wonder if I remember how to do this!

Joy and I were determined to find a place to hike yesterday.  All of the local preserves were closed but Oscar Scherer, which is a state Park was opened with limited trail access.  Limited access is better than no access so that was our destination.    We headed out knowing that the odds were very good that we wouldn't get far.  Surprisingly, even thought we did at least a half dozen U-Turns due to water in places it usually isn't, we still managed to hike more than 3 miles and quite a few hours.  Awesome!   This is, therefore the U-Turn Hike.  Makes perfect  sense.

The part of the trail that was clear was great!  And so there we would be walking and talking and shooting whatever appeals to us, as we do, and then we would come around a curve or over a rise and find this before us:

Oh well,  Nothing to be done for it but to turn around and try another offshoot of the trail.  And most of those led to other, better, surprises.

It was a surprisingly good birdie day so get ready for bird photos.  One of these Joy took, (I will identify it) the rest are mine though :

Some botannicals, a few a little different than my usual which is always nice for me at least:

One and only one dragonfly, (no butterflies )

And then there is the bicycle series.  There was a long section of trail that goes along a fence and on the other side of that fence is a bike trail.  At one point, the lighting was just perfect shining through spanish moss and vines hanging from a tree and as the bicycle flashed by I realized what a perfect shot it would have been. So I became determined to capture it.  

Joy showed such amazing patience.  It's about timing.  There is a split second pause between when I depress the shutter and when it actually takes the shot.  It's such a short amount of time, a nano second, that normally it doens't make a bit of different.  But when I'm trying to hit a moving target so to speak, it matters.

It was missed shot after missed shot after missed shot. Dang!  Finally I gave up and said, let's move on. So we did until the nest great tree and foliage/light/bicycle opportunity and then I, once again, snapsnapsnapped and missedmissedmissed.  ARGH!

Eventually it occurred to me t o change my setting to "sport" which, when you depress the shutter, takes 5 rapid fire photos.  Surely then I would almost by accident, get my photo.  Well you would think so wouldn't you.  You would be so very wrong.

But I became ever more determined to get this mythic shot that I had envisioned in my stupid head.  It was a goal. The Grail!  My mission.

Operating on the, eventually if you put enough monkeys in front of enough typewriters you will get the work of shakspeare theory, I continued trying.  When I looked at the results, well let me just say that I have never in  my life deleted so many photos from one session EVER!  Hilarious!  I am so ridiculous!

But here are a few of the shots I did NOT delete.  And not one of them is the photos that was in my mind and imagination.  So sad.

At any rate, that's it for the U-Turn Hike.  Thanks for joining Joy and I on our recent Photo Safari!  One day, maybe you'll come and hike it with us. Cameras optional.

I suppose this is an update on both of the Kittyboys.  They were very patient and mostly tolerant of all the activity involved in prepping for a hurricane such as:  being shoved into carriers (against their will), long (for them) car rides to strange places and then getting accustomed to a strange place only to be wrestled back into carriers (once again very much against their will), long (same length) car rides back home and then getting used to being home again but with no AC and a fur coat they cannot remove.   Oh dear, poor babies.  

But they seem to have muddled through, as you can see.  As the boys have gotten to their full growth (18 months old now) we see that while we used to struggle to tell them apart, it's much easier now.  And it's not just their very different personalities.  Wyatt is much bigger than Brysco.  He is taller, longer, broader across the shoulders, heavier and just feels like a more solid presence.   Brysco on the other hand, is shorter, much lighter, smaller boned and just feels more fragile in general. Don't let that fool you though, he can be a menace if he chooses too :)

Poor little baby Brysco had to have dental surgery recently.  Awwwww :(  We noticed about 3 weeks ago that he didn't have his usual appetite. He became, what we interpreted as, very fussy about his food.  Persnickety, picky, Diva-ish, particular, whatever you would like to call it.  And since cats are reknowned for such behaviour, we didn't think much of it until we realized that he was losing weight. That's a concern.

Most cats, while they certainly can and do snub meals now and again,  will not willingly starve themselves. So we made it a mission to seek out and find food that he would eat.  We tried so many flavours, brands and textures with varying degrees of success.  And then his behaviour began to change.  He slept more, which frankly is hard to measure since cats sleep a lot anyway, but he stopped engaging in play.  Uhoh.  He was always an absolute fool for a butterfly on a string but now suddenly, if presented with said butterfly, he would walk away.  Hmmmmm.

I think I would have been more worried, earlier, but he would have several off days and then one day when he was more like his old silly self. He would eat and play and wrestle with his brother and we'd think, well, whatever it was, he is over it now. Good.  And move on.  But you know how mom's are, we listen to our instincts and my instincts said that something was wrong.  So I made the vet appointment and took him (over his very vocal objections) in.  The vet determined very quickly that he had dental issues which is odd for such a young cat, especially since his brother does not have these problems. Hmmmm.

So the doctor gave us a dental rinse to give him once a day.  He showed us how it was done.  Brysco was not well pleased. Not with the vet or the tech or, considering that I just stood there and observed it happening, not with me either.  But with all good intentions, we went back home, medication in hand and the very first application went extremely poorly.  The second one fared no better.  By the third one, he had taken to hiding under the bed all day and not coming out for anything or anyone. 

 I explained what was going on to him, I begged, I demanded, I cajoled, I pleaded and eventually I cried.  He needed this medication and what the heck was wrong with me that I couldn't get him to take it.   Every time I dragged him out from under the bed to give him his medicine, he fought me, I tried to manhandle him (he is an absolute Houdini by the way when it comes to getting out of towels and blankets as purritos)  We were both absolutely traumatized.

Eventually I called the vet, told them what was going on and explained that no matter how we tried, he wasn't getting the medicine he needed and asked, did they have any other suggestions.  The doctor said stop. it's not doing either of you any good.  Leave him alone. Completely alone. Eventually he will come out from under the bed.  This kind of stress is not good for him. Give it a few days and we will see how it goes.

The vet tech called a few days later to check in.   I reported that he was eating even less but at least he came out from under the bed and stopped running away whenever I came into the room. I suppose that's progress of a sort.  We decided that I should bring him in once again. 

This time the doctor took some blood to test and he talked about what a mess Brysco's mouth was in general. No wonder he isn't eating.  He has some really bad teeth, bad gums, mouth ulcers everywhere.  The poor baby was an absolute mess, dentally.  The doctor said, it may come to doing surgery.  Awwwww :(  

When the test results came back we learned that he had something called, Feline Stomatitis.  Basically it means he has terrible teeth and wrose, he has an allergy or hyper sensitivity to the bacteria that results from such bad teeth.  Everything in his mouth was inflammed, sore, painful, ulcerated (and if untreated, would get even worse).  Sometimes it's related to other cat diseases such as feline leukemia but he tested negative (twice) for all of those.  Other times this disease is particular to certain breeds such as Himalyans, Burmese and Abyssinians.  Well Brysco was a feral kitty. Nobody knows his parents or grandparents, but it seems that there were some fancy arsed ancestors in his past.  And this is the legacy they left behind.  He was kind of born with terrible teeth.

The only thing to be done for it was to remove the bad teeth and do a super good gingivitis cleaning with injections for any infections. It's scary to consider but absolutely necessary.  I felt terrible for him but we knew it was the right thing to do.  The appointment for his surgery was made for, what ultimately turned out to be, the day before Hurricane Milton came to call.  Dang.  The vet changed to appointment to one week out.  Doesn't sound like much but when a kitty is a fragile as Brysco was becoming you begin to worry, Is he going to survive another week?

By the way throughout all of this, other than the hiding under the bed phased, he never once growled, hissed, scratched or bit us.  Even though he was in terrible pain, his nature was just a sweet and loving as ever.  What a little kitty rockstar!

We bought pate and babyfood and those squeezey cat treats that we in this house refer to as LickySticks.  The food I would have to literally hand feed to him. I would put a little on my finger, offer it to him and he would sometimes lick it off.  And on good days, he would eat all or most of the serving.  It was a slow process but encouraging when he ate well.  On bad days he might give it one test lick and then close his eyes and go back to sleep.  It broke my heart.  The LickySticks he would almost always eat and while they are intended as a treat not a meal, apparently if you eat enough of them in one sitting, it can serve as a make shift sort of a meal because he survived and made it through to his surgery day.

He sailed through surgery like a champ, came home a little loopy but every since surgery he has been eating like Joey Chestnut.  It's as if he cannot get enough food. It's not unusual for him to have 3 servings of breakfast.  And I'm happy to give it to him.  He has a way to go to fill up and out.

He is participating more in normal kitty shenanigans now though not as much as before and I have to remind myself that his surgery was just one week ago and it's going to take a bit for him to have his old energy.  But it's wonderful to see him jumping up, wrestling with his brother, checking birds out the window and asking for endless pets.  He is back to waking me up in the morning to remind me to feed the cats, snuggling with us in the night sometimes when he's a little chilly and  playing, just a little bit, like he used to.

His brother by the way, has been so sweet with him.  A little more gentle than normal, very attentive, giving up his own food for Brysco to eat and checking on him all the time. Wyatt is an awesome brother.

That's the good news.  The bad news is that usually, eventually all but his canine teeth will have to be pulled so we need to be on the lookout for his old, "dental related" behaviours and get him back to the vet ASAP if they return.  The vet said, he has never seen a cat NOT need to have all the teeth removed. However, he's also never seen a cat as young as Brysco with this issue so perhaps we can beat this.  That's the plan anyway.

So here is sweet baby Brysco starting to feel a bit like his old self.  If you think of it and you have a minute, please send positive thoughts that from here forward, he just gets better and better :)  We both thank you!

Howdy do to you.  I'm back.  Feels like I've been gone a REALLY long time but in fact it's been only about two weeks ish.  With good reason of course!

Don't know if you've heard but we had a bit of a pesky storm by name of Milton to deal with down here.  It's been a big year for storms in Florida this season.   Tropical Storm Debbie followed by Hurricane Helene who was  very cranky and then a mere two weeks later Milton hit us.  Wow.  I think (I hope) that's it for this season. I think I speak for all Floridians when I say, we are so over it. 

If you've never had the dubious pleasure of experiencing a hurricane let me enlighten you.  It's exhausting.  

The weather guys are great at keeping us updated with every bit of information and knowledge that they have and I love that.  The part that I don't love so much is that sometimes, despite all of their technology and talent and smarts,  they really can't fine tune it too much. So while we all know, sometimes for more than a week, that a storm is coming, we don't know, often until the very last minute, exactly where it's coming to.    And it matters.  It matters very much.

In the case of Milton, we knew that it was supposed to make landfall somewhere between Tampa and Ft Meyers, a distance of more than 130 miles.   If you can avoid being at ground zero for a hurricane (especially one as powerful as Milton) that is always the better choice.  And honestly, you don't have to go that far to be out of the worst of it.  But if you don't know where the doggone thing is going to end up, you don't know where or how far to go!!!

We were evacuated.  I mean, if you choose to stay, they won't throw down with you over it, but when an evacuation order is given, there is a reason, so unless you absolutely have no other option, you do as we did and you pack up  the kittens and associated caboodles and you go.  But go where?  Almost  everybody was going north which means the roads were going to be clogged, sometimes to the point of a highway looking more like a parking lot. Seriously, people have run out of gas trying to drive away from these storms and getting caught up in traffic and then there is no gas to be found anywhere.  A whole other issue.  Anyway, we opted to go south.

It was a decision to wrestle with a bit.  Being on the south side or "dirty side" of a hurricane always means risking flooding.  The wind pushes water on the backside of the storm so creeks become rivers, rivers overflow their banks and the ocean slaps the heck out of anything in it's way.  We ended up sheltering at a friend's house that was, (we fervently hoped) out of a flood zone.  Storm shutters were in place, very wisely,  but that also means not being able to see out so it's like living in a cave for the duration.

We evacuated on a Monday, the storm arrived on Wednesday into Thursday.  The shelter house lost power late Wednesday night after  flickering for hours.   The wind raged, the rain fell  and we patrolled the house with our flashlights through the night, looking for water intrusion.  We had a plan if the house flooded, no worries.  And it was a great plan too. Luckily, the water stayed out and even luckier the power was restored, at the shelter house, within 24 hours.  Yay!

Tim headed back to Venice to see if our House was still standing.  Yes that was a very real concern.  The storm made landfall at Siesta Key which is only 15 miles north of Venice.  It brought sustained winds over 120 miles an hour and a storm surge between 5 and 8 feet!  There were rumours of some neighborhoods (such as ours) being literally under water.  I was so relieved to get Tim's text once he arrived that our house was not only standing, but intact and dry.  Woohoo!  Still at that point, there was no power and no water.

Well, I can deal with no power for a time, but no water is a big nope from me. So we waited until water was restored to return on Saturday.  Despite a ton of  tree debris everywhere, it was so great so see our little house once again.  Tim moved Sandbags so we could get inside and as soon as we brought the kittyboys and all our crap inside, our first move was to open all the windows.  Next up was Tim trying to find - somewhere - some gas to start the generator while I applied myself to the odiferous task of throwing out everything in the fridge and freezer.  Gross.

After that was clean up.  Literally  picking up what Mother Nature threw down.  I've spent at least a few hours every morning since we returned hauling yard rubbish up to the lawn area beside the road for eventual collection.  At this point the pile is over 6 feet high, more than 6 feet wide and it spans the width from one side of the half circle driveway to the other. No idea how far that is....20 feet maybe?  Tim spent a lot of time cutting up things that were just too big to haul as they were.

Without power, there isn't much to do.  Tim attempted to work as much as possible from his cell phone. The generator, which is a godsend, keeps the fridge/freezer on, a few fans, a few lights and allows us to charge our phones. Yay!  But that's about it.  So cleaning is sweeping and cold water washing.  I swept a lot.  Cooking is not really possible.  Sadly, as much as we prepared (and we prepared) the house for the storm, we didn't think to get a new propane tank for the grill so that wasn't happening) So as things began to open, we caught probably one meal a day out somewhere.  Any other meals were "hurricane friendly foods" meaning food that do not require cooking or refrigeration.  Lots of crackers and granola bars.  Grocery Stores around here open very quickly, BUT most of their food has to be thrown out do to risk of contamination.  All meat, all frozen, all dairy including eggs. So it's slim pickins for a few days.

The generator needs to be fed, so every day Tim had to go out and find more gas, somewhere and that became a mission sometimes.  As I said, I worked on cleaning up the yard, sweeping the house aaaannnndddd that's about it.  I filled my days reading. I think I read 4 or perhaps it was 5 books waiting for the power to return.

Which is did late Tuesday night.  That of course did not go as planned.  The lineman repaired the lines early afternoon on Tuesday yayayayay!  Which started a fire!  boooooo!  Which they put out  YAYAYAY!  And cut down the damaged tree - necessary but sad.  And then restored the power which got everybody on our street and the street behind us back up and running EXCEPT our house and the guys behind us.  What??

Turns out that for whatever reason, those two houses ONLY had lines that went underground.  What??  And of course the linemen work on the lines...above ground, not the ones in the ground.  So someone else had to be called.  And they couldn't find "the box"  So there was much tramping around, cutting trees and shrubs, digging and the removal of part of a fence.  But eventually , after many hours and so very much work on their part, our power was restored and life gets sort of back to normal eventually.

And we are so tired.  Like everyone else.  Today I will venture out to the grocery store to replenish the larder.  I absolutely luxuriated in my hot shower this morning after many days of invigorating cold showers.  And tonight I will cook by golly!  Yesterday I caught up on the metric ton of laundry we had accumulated. Now I have a huge pile of ironing on the table patiently waiting.  And I need to vacuum desperately.

I heard somebody say, "that's the price you pay for living in Paradise"  Paradise? Really?  When I think of Paradise, I certainly don't envision life altering storms.   Perhaps that's the price we pay for living on the coast of Florida, I think that was is accurate and fair.  Regardless, I'm back.  We are safe.  The house still stands.  This house, by the way,  is a bit of a wonder to me.  She's small, old (by housing standards around here) with some really old (and other newer) windows and no storm shutters and she looks very unassuming but by gosh, she's got heart!  

So that's the story.  I need groceries and a nap. Not necessarily in that order.

Ya'll are not going to believe this, I mean I don't, why should you?  But this coming Friday, October 4th will be our 8 year blogiversary!  Wow!  Eight Years!

I say OUR anniversary because it really is a partnership.  I write it, you read it and sometimes you even comment on it!  There would be little point in me writing it if nobody was reading it. I mean, I can have all these crazy thoughts and observations, ideas and experiences without ever touching a keyboard.  Those things would still happen and it would not be a Blog. It would just be me living my life the way I always did prior to October 4th 2016 when I first dipped my toe, ever so tentatively into the blogiverse.

My readership has ebbed and flowed over those 8 years.  Some days/weeks/months are better than others, but isn't that the way of life?  Peaks and valleys, highs and lows. Good times and Bad. Amen, Amen.   And readership?  LOL  That's hilarious.  I have a lot of chutzpah referring to it so.  In the beginning I assumed that perhaps some family and a few close friends would be kind and take a little peekie at it out of politeness or kindness and that would be the end of it.   And I could at least say, "I tried" with the "and I failed" a silent addition.

But to my surprise not only did some people I know keep reading it, but people I don't know were reading it!  Wow!  That was unexpected..  And while it was an amazing compliment, it was also an added pressure. Am I writing something worth reading?  Should I change my style? Should I experiment with other topics?  Ultimately I decided that much like Sammy Davis Jr and Popeye, I gotta be me.  The first rule of writing is to be genuine and authentic.  Whether you like what I have to say, what I talk about or how I write it or not,  what I present is always 100% Sam.

Over the years, I occasionally get an email from someone I've never heard of who is an aspiring writer that offers to submit  a few articles on my site. I suppose for the experience and exposure.  The first time it happened I gave it a great deal of thought before I responded with a polite, "No thank you but I wish you good luck!"  I agonized over it. It wasn't just a flippant, nope.  It was a decision that I wrestled with for several days and nights before choosing. 

​ I felt at least a tiny bit of pressure.  I felt as if I had the obligation to allow someone else an opportunity to get their feet wet; to use my blog as a jumping off point, perhaps, for their own.   Ultimately, I realized that my blog is mine. Just me.  And since some people like it and honestly, even if people hate it so much that they avoid it like a plague, at least it's not diluted or miscontrued.  I take full responsiblity because it is my responsibility.

Sometimes I have a lot of material to write about and other times, very little.  A few of my ideas have been good ones, most of them are at least ok but it's easy to admit that a few have been seriously meh.   My apologies for the ones that didn't spark but I suppose that's life too.

I hope that over the years I have maybe occasionally entertained, informed, educated or even truly annoyed some of you. Enough that you still, occasionally, pop in to see what thoughts, events, ideas and questions have been rummaging around in my little punkin' head.

So once again, I thank each and every one of you, because without you, there's really no blog. Happy 8th Blogiversary to us!

Hugs all 'round

PS  Apparently there is another storm on our horizon.  Thus far the experts believe that it'll be just a lot of rain but even rain can knock out power/internet/so forth. Sooo if I'm not around early next week, that is, no doubt, the reason. Take heart, much like MacArthur and Schwarzenegger,  I shall return. 

I'm here, so obviously, we have power.  Yay!  As far as we are concerned, Hurricane Helene is all over except for the clean up.  Sadly, many other people weren't as lucky.

The morning of the storm was so mild that it was deceptive.  We decided to take a little early morning drive to see what was open, what was closed.  Lo and behold, our favourite donut shop was open so of course we had to stop in!  The lower right donut you may recognize was the hurricane icon that weatherpeople use on their big old maps.  We think it's clever and hilarious that our donut shop makes those for every big storm.  It's also absolutely delicious.

The day continued with rain on and off, gusty wind periodically and occasional sunshine which really threw us off, because that was not anticipated at all!  Just didn't seem to be that big of a deal. But still we took it seriously because Hurricanes are something to pay attention to with respect if not a little fear.  I tucked all my potted garden into a protected corner in the courtyard and Tim stacked all the patio furniture in front of it.  He took down the Sail Shade so that the wind wouldn't tear it away.  We put sandbags at the front and back door, just in case.  And then, there's nothing left to do to get ready.

 I never really know what to do with myself the day of a storm.  I don't really want to get anything big started like laundry or baking because if the power goes out mid-stream so to speak, I am  left with a problem. So I piddled around doing little things and feeling quite unsettled.  Eventually I had done everything I could do that didn't require power. And after that? I played with the cats, paced a lot, read a little bit.

As mild as things were at our house, we were getting reports from the other side of the island (we are on the east side, gulf is on the west side) of flooding. Pre-storm surge.  Dang.  Crazy stuff.   Eventually the rain and the wind picked up and we, safe and dry inside, just kind of enjoyed the Mother Nature show.  Even the cats spent most of their day in various windows watching.  

Throughout, we checked in with several different weather reporting sources to keep track of where the storm was exactly, how strong it was, and so forth because, I don't know, somehow it helps. I don't know why but it does.  We kept checking in with friends, family and neighbors back and forth and that texting is definitely a comfort!   The lights flickered over and again, but stayed on, thank goodness.

Eventually,  when the storm had settled a wee bit and the rain had let up a mite, a little after 10 pm we decided to try to get some sleep.  Tim was already comfy with his side of the adjustable bed adjusted just as he likes to watch a little TV.  I hadn't quite gotten that far yet when pop!  Full dark.  Dang.  We held our breathe waiting to see if it would come right back on. It did not.

First things first, I got on my phone, went to the Florida Light and Power website and reported the outtage.  Then I put on my shoes, went outside and looked down the street to see who else had no power.  Everyone on our side of the street and about 3/4 of the other side of the street was also dark. However, houses right across the street from us had all their lights on. Colour me jealous.

Meanwhile, inside, Tim managed to McGyver a way to re-adjust his bed back to flat. (think about it, power bed needs power!)  He is such an evil genius :)  Well maybe not evil, just genuis :)  And we wandered around the house, tentatively opening windows, hoping for a cool breeze now and again.  The coolest part of the house at that point was the living room as it's in the middle between the kitchen (which has windows- now open) and the family room (which also has windows - also open).  Cool air sinks, so of course we want to be low to the ground.  We made pallets on the floor and added our pillows and tried to rest.  
'
The kitties were very entertained at the idea of their humans being down on their level.  But we were absolutely Not Resting.  This old back is not happy on the floor. Eventually we got up and tried to sleep on the family room sofa.  No go.  Tim moved back to the bedroom, again, windows open, but I stayed in the family room and played games on my tablet until it's charge ran out.  I couldn't sleep and it's dark. The entertainment possibilities were limited.

At some point a few hours later, Tim came into the family room and began shutting windows. My assumption was that it had begun raining again so I jumped up to help then realized...Power was Back On!  Great Words.  Finally, once the house cooled back off, we were able to catch a couple hours sleep.

This morning is sunny, still a bit windy and more rain is expected this afternoon.  I need to start the yard clean up as there is a great deal of tree debris.  But first I took a walk.  I could hear chain saws so some big things must have come down.    I wanted to go to the beach even for just two minutes but the sidewalk in front of the access boardwalk was flooded still.  I will wait. There are reports of flooded areas here on the island this morning and the destruction of an adorable little food shop called Jetty Jacks that, obviously, was on the jetty. So sad.

Keep in mind, this storm made landfall on the Florida Panhandle which is about a 5 hour drive north of us.  We were only hit with the outter bands!!! And yet we are hearing from people who had thigh deep and chest deep water.  Homes that simply no longer exist. It's absolutely crazy.

But we are safe and dry and I'm going to go outside now and start filling up bins with tree debris.  Let's see how far I get.   Hurricane Helene has done her work here and has moved farther north to plague and harass other folks in other states. She is a busy girl with a very bad attutide.

Ya'll have a great weekend.  Hugs all 'round.

I don't usually give you guys two photo safari reports back to back, but I have to write this one up before I start forgetting the details!  Yikes!  This getting old business is wild sometimes.

OK, this outing was our first hike after my big fall (last report) and as you can see from the photo Joy took of me shooting,  taking pictures was a two handed deal for me. I quickly figured out that if I held the camera in my left hand, I could still push the button,  adjust the settings, etc with my right coz that only takes one finger!  The Pointer Finger hard at work!!

We went to another local preserve but one we rarely hike called the Lemon Bay Preserve. It's actually right here in Venice  (off island but still Venice) but for some unkown reason, we tend to go elsewhere most of the time.  We are so very glad that we chose Lemon Bay this particular hike and here is why:

Wow!  This handsome fellow was one of the very first things we saw as we headed down our first  randomly chosen!  He was trotting along ahead of us, in no particular rush, and did not dart off into the undergrowth which is what Joy and I expected.  I know that he was aware of us behind him because at one point he turned his head and saw us.  But it was just sort of an acknowledgement, "S'up" and our presence didn't seem to bother him.  Naturally we stayed back, kept a respectful distance and were quiet so I don't' think we were threatening to him in anyway.  Of course, push come to shove, I also know that if there were a fight between us, he would win hands down and he knows that too.  

At any rate, it was a stellar start to this particular Photo Safari and obviously this one will be called the Bobcat Hike in his honour.

We kind of hit the highlight of the hike right off the bat with the Bobkitty so while we saw and photographed a lot of other things, nothing nearly as cool as that first sighting.

We always try to head out fairly early in the day which means we get that gorgeous early morning light:

Also due to the early hour,  there were a remarkable number of birds.  Most of them were zooming around getting breakfast and whatever else it is that birds do to get started on their days, which means I probably am not going to get their photos.  I'm not good at moving targets, unlike Joy. But I still got quite a few birdie shots:

I always manage to get a few botanicals because why boys and girls?  That's right, because they don't' move and therefore I am able to capture them!  

Let's see a bunny, a dragonfly and a squirrel

And I think that's about it.  We didn't stay as long as we sometimes do but we made the most of every minute we were there!

Sooo thank you for reading the Bobcat Hike.  I hope you enjoyed this Photo Safari. 

Just as an aside, we are expecting some sort of storm on Thursday this week that nobody, including the experts, seems to be absolutely certain about.  Could be just a bunch of rain, could be a tropical storm, could be the dirty side of a low level hurricane that lands far north of us, could be a much bigger hurricane, could be anything in the middle there or nothing at all.  I have heard every single one of those possibilities, from the experts, who are as muddled as the rest of us, just in a more educated sort of way.  The best part about whatever it is, seems to be that it will be a quick storm, in and out. Less than a full day from top to bottom and I'm good with that.

The point being that even a low level storm can knock out power so if you dont' hear from me later this week, assume that to be the case and I promise that as soon as I can come back and report on the storm, I shall.

Meanwhile, hugs all 'round. Be safe, Be Happy!

Welcome to Part Two of the Surprise Big Finish Hike.  Thank you for be interested enough to want to know the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey used to say - hoo boy, I'm really dating myself now!)

Just as an aside I had a cute graphic and several real photos of my damaged self to share but for whatever reason, my computer flatly refuses to upload them today.  So we will soldier on using just our imaginations to picture what I write.  Sorry about that.

So when last we left the tale,  to recap, I had just made a spectacular swan dive onto the hiking trail after catching my foot in a sneaky tree root.  After I caught my breath, I seemed to be fine so I got up, did my best to dust of as much dirt as possible, checked my camera for damage (it seemed to be fine) and we finished hiking out of the preserve.

By the time we reached the car, I had to admit that my hand was a little tiny bit sore and perhaps my ribs hurt just a mite.  Understandable as I fell, literally on my side with my right arm outstretched, camera in that hand.  Felt like no big deal.  I was sure that once I showered and changed, I would just as right as rain.  I was wrong.

I told Tim about my forest shenanigans upon my return and his concern leapt immediately to two things:  Urgent Care and Ice Packs.  I agreed to the liberal application of ice packs but only after showering (I was 12 different levels of filthy) but declined the visit to Urgent Care. After all, I was only a littlest bit sore, there were no marks on me at all. Nothing was dangling at odd angles, there was no blood and I was fully conscious. Didn't seem like a big deal at all.

By the time I got out of the shower however, I began to see a bruise forming in the palm of my hand which I thought was odd until I remember that I was holding my camera in my hand.  When I matched the two things up.....dingdingding..we have a winner.    I filled a bowl with water and ice and just let my hand submerge in that until it was numb.  Let it dry off and warm up, then did it over and over again.   I figured that along with a healthy dose of Alleve  ought to fix 'er up.  And of course some ice cream because we all know that Ice Cream has great curative powers!

The bruising continued to grow and pop in new places throughout the day as did the swelling.  Hmm I wondered, Maybe I really did hurt myself worse than I thought?   After a long, largely sleepless night due to the rib pain - both front and back which means that every time I lay down I was literally poking a sore spot with a sharp stick.  As softysoft as my lovely mattress is, it felt more like a bed of rocks that night.

By morning my hand was very swollen, front and back, as well as all the fingers save the index and the thumb.  My ribs hurt so much it was uncomfortable to sit or raise my right arm and an impressive new bruise wrapped itself all the way around my right forearm.  Pretty.  So yeah, ouchie.

By mid-afternoon I said Uncle and gave in to Tim's request to go to Urgent Care. Just to make sure nothing was broken.  It wasn't very busy so we were called to the desk to check in right away.  Where we ran into the first surprise (another surprise) issue.  She asked for my photo ID and insurance cards.  No worries, I was smart enough to have brought my purse.  Tim helped me open the zippy compartment where such things are kept and...................what the what?  Where's my driver's license?  Followed quickly by, Where's my insurance cards?  I escalated quickly to full panic.  Tim fortunately being of a much calmer nature began to methodically go through first my wallet and then my entire purse.  But nope, neither one was there.

I tried to look super calm on the outside but on the inside I was totally freaking out!  Did I lose it?  If so where?  Under what circumstances?  Was it stolen?  Is someone else out there masquerading as me? Holy Crap!

The lady behind the desk looked me up and found that I was an existing patient (at an urgent care center - tells you a little something about me, eh?) and the person in front of her matched the photo in her computer so we were set on the score.  Tim handed over his insurance card (same insurance) and that little issue was resolved and we were off to a patient room.

Very quickly a succession of various absolutely lovely, efficient and professional medical people came through to ask questions and take blood pressure and so forth.  The doctor, after a quick stop did order x-rays as expected and I was whisked off for those.  Once again, it was handled beautifully by the nicest people and then we went back to the room to wait for results.  And wait. And wait.

While we waited we played a made up game where we each had to come up with the name of one band or musical solo act for each letter of the alphabet.  Tim had just come up with ZZ Top for the letter Z (I had nothin' ) when the doctor came back in to give us the amazingly good news that Nothing was broken. Wow!  That's awesome!  But that I had some world class contusions, pulled muscles and ligaments and those can take longer to heal than a broken bone.  Well that part is not quite as good but hey, no broken bones. Let's take the win and celebrate!  Woohoo!

As we were driving home the marbles in my head finally fell into the proper holes and I remembered that the last time I was absolutely positive I used both my photo ID and my insurance cards was the day of my last surgery this past June.  The hospital always says to bring those but no  personal belongings (meaning no purse!) so after the hospital returned those items to me, I must have handed them off to Tim for safe keeping.  Which means, perhaps he still has them?

He was surprised at the thought.  Surely he returned them to me.  Once we settled back in, me with various and sundry ice packs here and there as I got as comfortable as possible, Tim left the room.  Shortly thereafter he returned with....yup, My drivers license and insurance cards.  Whew!  What a relief!

So now here we are exactly one week from the original Surprise Big Finish Hike and most of the bruises are but a distant memory.  The few that remain are fading.  My hand and my ribs still hurt like crazy but I know good and well that eventually, this too shall pass.

In the meantime I'm being a lot more careful about where I put my big feet, especially in the forest.

So there you have it.  And lest you think that I was smart enough to lay off the hiking for awhile, you are so silly. Of course not.  Joy and I were back at it yesterday.  I discovered that if I hold the camera in the left hand, I could still push the button with my right index finger and pictures still happen!  Woohoo!    Got some decent pictures too. Which I'll post, probably early next week as a Photo Safari Report.  If you like those, stay tuned!

And have a Great weekend!

Howdy do to all of you!

Here we are on another busy Monday, hope your weekend was awesome.  Looks like this is going to be yet another Photo Safari Report but this one has a surprise, big Finish!  Almost like a Busby Berkley Musical Extravaganza! (if you've never heard of it, look it up. Google exists for this very reason).  Well except there was no actual music.  And that's not true either because there is always music playing in my head but since nobody but me can hear it (unless I am singing along out loud) I suppose it doesn't count. At Any Rate, this one will be the Big Surprise Finish Hike.

Joy and I, running out of ideas about where we could possibly go to hike that isn't flooded and/or closed headed to Oscar Schere State Park.  We asked the Ranger at the gate if any of the trails were flooded. He said that yes, pretty much all of them. Ratz.  BUT he said, the Green Trail is at least partly dry.  Ok!  We headed for the green trail.  We decided that we would just follow it as far as we could, then turn back and at least we would have gotten a little exercise in the sunshine.

As it turned out all of the green trail was almost completely dry except two small areas that we were able to basically walk around.  So yay to that!  Glad we took the chance.  

One huge surprise for us was an offshoot part of the Green trail that we have only ever seen closed was actually open for a change. You bet we headed down that trail ASAP.  The rangers close the trail during Eagle Nesting season as there are several active nests in the area.  It was 3 miles of new to us trail so it was exciting!

The photo at the top of the page shows an old eagle nest that was in the same area.  It's hard to express how massive these nests are.  I suppose the fact that the nest can be seen from quite some distance away is a fair indicator of it's size.  There were no eagles in sight (yet) but they'll be coming along soon.  They close the trails in October and they stay firmly closed through May. We got really lucky.

I didn't take a lot of photos on this hike Or at least not a lot of successful ones, but I had a great time walking and talking and looking at things.

Here are a few birds for you, just so you know my camera was in my hand:

I think I probably took more botanical photos than anything:

And then, of course, there was the butterfly, the leafwalker bug and the squirrel (not together!):

Maybe you could tolerate another Eagles Nest?  And a random "x marks the spot" of jet trails in the sky because, why not?

Clearly we were having a great time.  As hot and humid as it normally  is outside this time of year, it really wasn't too bad that day.  There was a nice breeze and enough shade as we walked along, that even though it was about a 3 mile saunter through the forest, we weren't as pooped as we normally would be just from the effort in heat/humidity.  If you've never experienced it, I promise you that hiking the same distance on a cooler, dryer day is a piece of cake.  In nicer weather Joy and I have hiked 7 miles and more with no issues at all other than perhaps being a might hungry afterwards.  Something about the heat and humidity just saps your strength and endurance normally.

Or maybe I shouldn't generalize.  Maybe it doesn't happen to you at all.  Maybe it's just me.  It's possible that other people, even most people, have no issues about exertion in those conditions at all.  So I will try to say, I instead of You from this point forward.

At any rate, the point is, that as we neared the end of the trail, while we could definitely tell the temps and accompanying humidity were rising rapidly, we were not in any way negatively impacted by it, for a change.  It just meant, yup, it's time to head on back before it gets unpleasant.

We weren't more than a half mile from the place where we began.  Joy and I were chatting as we walked along, side by side and I was adjusting the settings on my camera which I was holding in my right hand, adjusting with my left when suddenly I was not walking along anymore.  I was, for a very brief time, airborn.  And then, I was, by gravity, slammed back to earth. Honestly that's exactly what it felt like.

Yeah, that's kind of a big surprise finish eh?

I heard Joy saying, "Sam, Sam are you ok?"  After a moment of gasping for air, I said, "yeah I'm ok but I dropped my camera".  Other than having the wind knocked out of me for a minute there, I felt surprisingly fine.  I rolled from my side, where I landed, to my back and pushed myself to my feet.

My biggest concern somehow, was how dirty I was.  Joy handed me my camera and my glasses as I attempted, futilely, to 'dust" myself off.  Joy assisted and pointed out the tree root (nearly completely hidden on the trail) that I tripped over, and the dig in mark from where I tried to catch myself on the other foot (none of which I was aware of).  She reassured me that I fell rather gracefully (there is a shock) and asked me at least a dozen times if I was ok.  I said I was fine as many times back though I admitted that my hand was starting to hurt a little bit.  Still, there was no bruising, no swelling. I was sure I was fine. 

She drove me back to my house, we promised to talk again on Monday (today) if not before and went our separate ways.

Turns out I wasn't quite as fine as I thought.

But that'll be a story for another day.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the Surprise Big Finish Hike. Stay tuned for Part II later this week.

What do you say, we start the week off with a Photo Safari Report?  Feels like that's a way to start a new week on the right foot!  (tha'ts me on the left and  Joy on the right by the way)

This photo safari report will be the twice as nice hike.  You will see why very shortly.

​
We began the hike at Lemon Bay Preserve.  It's a local place, very pretty and since it's no where near the Mayakka River which seems to be responsible for flooding most of our other hiking spots, we had high hopes.  And it started off really well too.  In fact, at one point Joy remarked that we didn't need to hike, we could just continue to stand in one spot and take pictures of everything flying our way!  The air was filled with all  sort of  birds!  (of course I only captured these 3 but still)

AND, because  there was a fierce storm the night before, there were loads of beautiful water drop pictures to be had:

To say nothing of this very acrobatic squirrel who was doing a high wire act for us:

Then, eventually, we walked on down the path and around a corner only to find:

Well dang.  Now what?  I mean we are fairly intrepid, sometimes even to our own disadvantage. But this isn't just muck and a little puddle or stream we can hop over. We cannot even build a frond bridge over that. And it appeared that the wet just continued so...end of the hike?  Nah, we dont' give up that easily.

Instead we moved on to the Urban Forest which is a wonderful and relatively new place to walk and wander just off island.  It's a forested area which has been created solely by volunteers right alongside the ICW (Inter Coastal Waterway) and the riding/walking trail that follows it.  The Urban Forest is literally only a few feet away from the trail and the waterway but it might just as well be miles. It's a whole other world.  In a word, it is amazing.

I'll start with the botanicals because they were legion!  These flowers are sprinkled throughout the forrest and to our surprise, at one point, there was a specifically designed Butterfly Garden that was loaded with their intended prey along with bees a plenty.  In fact, there was one of the Urban Forrest voluneers hard at work in the butterfly garden as we walked through.

And there were other birds, different from what we saw at Lemon Bay - nice bonus eh?

AND did any ask about insects?  Yeah we got those.  And a bonus snail too!

On our return, for a time, we actually crossed through the urban forrest and came out along the hiking/biking trail to see an entirely different world!  It was almost jarring. But I did take some photos:

It was an unusual hike (for us) but still a good one and I think we got some good photos to go along with a nice hike a good company.  The only question that remains is, where will we go this week?

​Hope you enjoyed the Twice as Nice Hike!  I'll post again soon :)  Hugs all 'round