toadstool

I saw this toadstool in the front yard which just seemed to pop-up through the grass overnight. One day it was just suddenly there. It is about the size of a closed fist which I think for toadstools is large.

The very next day I went out in the yard to see how it was doing and it opened up like an upside down flower. I didn’t realize that it was going to do that. I guess all of the rain has these things sprouting up. Sometimes it seems that the yard is an ecological wonder with its rich diversity of plant life, both flowering and non-flowering. Oh yes, there is also plenty of insect life, salamanders, toads, and most anything else that you can think of. Have a good day. Lew

Who's in the garage?

Did I hear something in the garage? What could it be? Maybe an intruder? Scarry. Look closely. Do you see anything? Is there something in the chair. Could there be a cat? Could there be

two of them? I think that I see a little head just above the armrest.

Yep, there are two of them. Feral kittens looking for a handout. Actually there was three of them on the chair but one of them ran off before I could get a picture.
They have the same mother as Tammy but obviously a different father. They seem to be enjoying the comfort of the chair as they await the food. They are very cute as kittens are known to be. Unfortunately, we can’t get anywhere close to them. They are just too wild. Tammy is 11 months old and is really filling out and getting to be a big cat. It won’t be long before she will be able to hold her own against any neighborhood bully.

As you can see, Tammy the cat is becoming quite an armful. Tammy will let Mary hold her but not me. Mary holds her multiple times a day and so she is probably use to Mary. The animals are cute and they make me laugh with their antics. Now pardon the pun, but have a puurrfect day. Lew

Pete the tile man

This is a picture of my nephew Pete who was photographed while putting the tiles on a space shuttle. This picture ended up being used for a postcard at the gift shop at the Kennedy Space Center. I bought a whole bunch of the post cards and gave some to my brother, most to my nephew, and kept some for my self which I asked him to autograph the backs of. So I will be up tonight to see the fiery trail of the shuttle launch in the night sky from here in Orlando. Everyone have a nice day and an even nicer evening watching the shuttle launch for those of us living in Florida and especially for those on the east coast of Florida. Lew

smart kitty

Now isn’t this one smart kitty. She lays in the shade of the gardenia bush. It seems that I don’t possess that much intelligence because I can be seen working in the hot blistering sun instead of lounging in the shade like the cat. Who says people are superior to animals? Tammy the cat has also been spending more time in the air conditioned house lately. What a good life this cat has. Reminds me of my childhood when all that I had to do all day was to play outside and have fun. Work? Why, work was for parents. Pay the bills? Well, that was for parents also. Put the food on the table? Yep, you guessed it, that was for parents too. So what did I do besides play outside and have fun? Well, that was pretty much it. Sounds good, doesn't it? Have a nice day playing and having fun as much as possible. Lew

bluest of blues

Remember this picture of the faded flower? Well, if you look close toward the bottom you can see a real pretty blue flower that has appeared.

As you can see, it is a really pretty blue flower with such an intensity of colorful. I can understand why my great grandfather had a very large garden and I do mean very large, and the only thing that he grew was flowers. He had a myriad of flowers of every type and color. But his favorite was marigolds and he evidently passed that fondness of marigolds on to me because that is my favorite flower also. Whenever my parents would visit him he often took me outside to show me his flower garden and especially his marigolds. He always praised his marigolds. He spent his golden years of retirement tending his garden. He enjoyed life and had a passion for the beauty of nature.

Today was the last day for Arby's free sandwiches and we stopped and got them for lunch on our way back from Longwood. I spoke to the manager and he told me that the free Wednesday sandwich promotion has now ended after today. I was hoping that they might continue it but that was not to be. After we got home, we did some yard work but only for about a half hour before the rains were upon us. The rains were a real "frog strangler" but they would start and then stop and then start and then stop and then ............................. The cat was outside during the first of these rainstorms and it was a real heavy downpour. She wasn't in the garage and we expected a drenched sopping wet cat to return when the rains had stopped and to be looking very similar to a drowned rat. Well, she showed up on the front porch bone dry. We figure that perhaps she was staying under one of the neighbors houses to keep dry. Usually she will be in the garage at times like these, but not this time. These cats seem to have their own little secret hiding places. We had barbeque ribs done on the Ron Popeil Showtime rotisserie. "Set it, and forget it." They were good. Macaroni salad was a side. Have a pleasant evening. Lew

scapular medal

This is the scapular medal that Mary got me for my birthday. She got it at the gift shop of the Shrine of Mary basilica. It is very nice and has already replaced the St. Christopher’s medal that she had gotten me in the past.

Sunrises and sunsets. People seem to love the beauty of them. One time I was driving on the highway in the Florida Keys in the very late afternoon and there were cars pulled over to the side of the road. Lots of them. Thinking that something must have happened, I pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. I got over of the car and asked the first person that I saw what was happening. He told me that people were pulling over to watch the sunset over the water. He was right, the sunset was quite spectacular. These were the kind of people who appreciate nature and take time to smell the flowers and watch the sunsets. The lifestyle in the Florida Keys is much more slow-paced than that of the city life. Food for thought: if a person lived in a house on one of those small islands in the Florida keys could he walk out of the front of his house and see the sunrise out over the ocean in the morning and then in the evening, walk out the back door and see the sunset into the ocean? Wouldn’t that be great? Sort of like being on the east coast Atlantic in the morning and the west coast Pacific in the evening. I write this because I happened to step out the back door this morning and dawn was breaking and it was a majestic site. The clouds were lit and shining and although the sun hadn’t peeked up yet over the horizon, I knew that it wouldn’t be long. The birth of a new day with the wonderment of what adventures it will hold for me. I wish that I could paint like Mary so that I could record the wonders that I see. But I am definitely left brain dominant and that means my artistic skills are zilch because the artistic skills are suppose to be located on the right side of the brain. So instead of painting a picture I will just have to describe what I see with a thousand words or take a picture. Life is good. Lew

icy cold popsicles

The good news about summer is that it is popsicle time. After all, who would eat a popsicle during the icy cold winter months? And now these frozen treats come in such a variety of flavors.
I use them for a quick cool down. And they even come sugar free. I even found an inexpensive brand at Wal-Mart and the best part is that the flavors are so intense. They are great. The blue ones are my favorite and they taste like the blue icee’s at 7-11 which I believe is a raspberry flavor. The white ones are coconut. There just doesn’t seem to be anything finer when I am hot, than sitting in my air conditioned living room with a tower fan turned on full blast eating a popsicle and drinking from a glass of ice water. Within a matter of minutes I am almost on the chilly side. Well, at least cool. Does anyone else have any suggestions for getting cool?
Eve’s. No not the Garden of Eden Eve. More like Christmas eve and New Year’s eve and Lew’s birthday eve. I have already gotten a very nice birthday card from Villager and Seaside. No birthday card from my previous employment. Lillian is no longer there and thus I guess that I won’t be getting any cards from there since Lillian was the “sunshine” girl who organized all of those kinds of activities. I use the term “sunshine” because when I worked in a hospital in Phoenix we had a “sunshine club”. It was a group that once a month would rent a bus and take a bus trip somewhere like Disneyland or some other fun place. It was fun going with a group of people that you know because of the company and camaraderie of the coworkers and friends. Plus the driving was done by the bus driver and so everyone arrived at our destination refreshed, except the bus driver of course. So that was our “sunshine club” which stood for merriment and cheer. I enjoyed the trips. And who did all of the work of organizing and coordinating and promoting these trips? Yep, just one dedicated female employee who was always cheerful and upbeat. She truly seemed to enjoy it. We all had fun as a result of her labors. I don’t know what Mary has planned for my birthday and I guess that I will have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Well, I do know one thing that she has planned, we are going to Sonny’s barbeque for lunch which will be yummy. I must close because I am reaching my 500 word limit for the blog. Have a good day and for those of us lucky enough to be in Florida, don’t forget to get up early tomorrow morning (1:40 am) to watch the shuttle launch. Lew