imagination

Imagination. What a wonderful thing to let the mind run free. I was taking a picture of the neighbors house across the street because of the colored lights. I also liked the pretty deep blue sky.

When I viewed the pictures on the computer, the house looked like a giant pumpkin face with the windows as the eyes, the door as the nose and the lights along the bottom as the mouth. What do you think? Has my imagination run amuck?

This morning (Sunday) Mary made waffles with a dollop of whip cream in the center and a maraschino cherry with the stem still attached on top of the whip cream. Very pretty and good too.

We are both waiting for December 1 to start our Christmas shopping. It will be nice because we will be able to go to the stores on week-days and avoid the week-end crowds. What do I want for Christmas? Anything “overpriced” as Miss Piggy of the Muppets would say. Actually Mary and I are preparing want lists for presents for each other so that we won’t have to spend the day after Christmas standing in the return line at the stores. Have fun doing your Christmas shopping, listening to the background Christmas music at the malls and looking at the mall Christmas decorations. Be good because we all know who is making his list of those who have been naughty and nice. And he checks it twice. Merry Christmas. Lew

"big breakfast" Saturday

This is Mary holding her pet bunny. He is very friendly to her because she interacts with the bunny a lot. When she holds him, the rabbit likes to put one of his paws up against her cheek.

The rabbit gets to run around in the house in the afternoons and again on the couch at night after supper. When Mary is laying on the couch the bunny just climbs and runs all over her. He also likes to rub noses with her.

It is Saturday and today we are going to the library to check out the DVD’s. They have so many of them to chose from. I have a list of Steven Spielberg movies and I want to see if the library has any his films that I haven’t seen yet. I am a big fan of his movies. We will probably avoid the stores because of the crowds. We won’t start our Christmas shopping until December 1, that way we have 30 days to exchange things. I also like shopping on week-days when the stores aren’t crowded. It is much more relaxing that way. When I go shopping I like to stroll slowly through the stores looking at everything and stopping to take a closer look at anything that catches my eye. So when I go shopping at Wal-Mart, I am in the store for quite a while. Shopping is more fun that way. I guess that you might say that I do a lot of “window shopping”, looking a lot but buying little. Did anyone do any “black Friday” shopping? Here’s hoping that everyone gets more for Christmas than they hoped for and fun gifts (toys not clothing). After all, who wants to get socks on Christmas? Not me. The little boy in me still wants toys, expensive electronic toys. How about a new computer? That would be a nice gift.

It is cold this morning and that is the bad news. The good news is that it is Saturday and that means “big breakfast” day. Mary got the bacon out of the freezer last night to thaw and so I know that we will be having eggs and bacon and cinnamon raisin toast with butter and raspberry jam. Have a good day and when you go grocery shopping don’t forget to stock up on the packets of hot chocolate mix (the kind with the little marshmallows). Stay warm. Lew

golden turkey

It was 6:00 am on turkey day and it was time to put the turkey into the oven. Mary had done all of the preparations on the turkey the night before and had it sitting in a large roasting pan ready to go. All that I had to do was move the turkey from the refrigerator to the oven and “set it and forget it” as they say. It was a 13 lb. turkey so it was going to take a while to bake. The table is set and finally the turkey is done. I am hungry and ready to eat.

Everything turned out just right and done to perfection. The potatoes that were cut up and baked were especially good.

Actually, everything was good. And now it is time
to eat.

I know that the plate is turned the wrong way. I turned it around so that the meat was facing me. As you can see by the pile of dressing, I really like dressing. Cranberry sauce too. When I use to go to Morrison’s cafeteria and got their turkey dinner meal, they would give a teeny weenie container of cranberry sauce. The container was a small paper pill cup that nurses bring the pills to patients in. We both ate heartily of our Thanksgiving day repast and tried to save room for dessert which was pumpkin pie.

After cutting our piece of the pie, I put a mountain of real whip cream on top of the piece of pie. We had our Thanksgiving dinner at lunch time and then repeated the whole turkey meal again at suppertime. Today for lunch it will be turkey sandwiches and supper will be turkey once again. I really like turkey and so it is pretty hard for me to get tired of it. We will get many meals out of our turkey. I hope that everyone had an equally enjoyable meal. Even the cat and the dog had turkey. Such pampered pets. Tammy woke me up to go outside at 5:30 am this morning. Usually she gets me up at 4:30 am to go outside so I guess that she slept in a little. I went ahead and stayed up making myself a cup of coffee. Then around 6:00 am I heard a terrible cat fight in the garage. I ran to the door and when I opened it Tammy ran into the house. I couldn’t see the other cat. Now she has a sore right leg and holds it up when she sits and sometimes she won’t step on the right leg but at other times she will. I think that we have some bully cats in the area. But we are letting her recuperate by sleeping on the bed which she is currently happily doing. Such a pampered kitty. It is cold out today which should put the black Friday Christmas shoppers in the Christmas spirit. I am not going shopping today because of the crowds. Have a nice day and enjoy your turkey sandwiches. Lew

shop til ya drop

Here is a picture of Dolly just barely into the house into the dining room eating her supper. Remember that Dolly is Tammy’s mother. Tammy is sitting in the garage watching her mother eat. I think because Tammy has food available to her 24 hours a day and all that she can possible eat with lot food of leftover, that she really isn’t all that concerned. Mary and I are not sure if Tammy can remember that Dolly is her mom.
The turkey is thawed and Mary is going to prepare it for baking and I will put it into the oven tomorrow morning at 6:00 am. It is a 13 lb. turkey. I went to Wal-Mart to day to get some items for the outside Christmas lights. They were really busy. I guess that it must be all of the last minute shoppers. We put up most of the icicle lights on the eave of the roof yesterday.
Tonight we had homemade pea soup from scratch with dry split peas in a bag. Mary had to slow cook them for quite a while. She also put in some pieces of ham. The main course was a steak for her made into a steak sandwich and barbequed pork sandwich for me. Tmorrow is turkey, turkey, and more turkey. With all of the left over turkey scraps tomorrow, I am sure that the cats and the dog will be in food heaven tomorrow. Be sure to buy a newspaper tomorrow so that you can have all of the Black Friday ads. Just shop til ya drop. Have a good day. Lew

Project Aurora

This will probably be one of the strangest blogs that you have ever read. I have heard and read that there might be a new military airplane. It is suppose to go super fast and it is suppose to leave bubbles or smoke rings in its contrail. This new

airplane is suppose to be called Project Aurora. Now this is probably top secret and so don’t repeat what I am telling you, but I was out in the front yard when I looked up and saw this unusual contrail with the bubbles in it at regularly spaced intervals. I ran inside, grabbed my camera and ran back out to snap some pictures. So what do you think? Could this be a smoke trail of the next generation planes known as Project Aurora? Personally, I have no idea but it will be nice to someday find out, like with the stealth fighter. Lew

small and pretty

So what on earth is this a picture of? A flower bud on the gardenia bush? A small ant hill? Yeah, you guessed it right, the tiny little flowers. So easy to walk by and not

notice. So small and yet so pretty. It just caught my eye while I was checking the gardenia bush for “trip vines”. I don’t know what the actual name of the vines are, but I call them “trip vines” because when on occasion I was walking through wooded areas in Seminole county to do inspections I would trip on them and fall down. I was doing inspections for suture home construction and some of these future homes would be set back a couple hundred feet or more from the road. On occasion we would have to ask the developer to cut us a path through the brush. But most of the inspections were in more civilized surroundings. These vines are very tough and strong (almost woody). They also had thorns on them that looked just like shark teeth or the thorns on a rose. And so when I tripped on them and fell down, they would also cut my ankles. In the woods they grew along the ground and blended in with the ground making them almost invisible. That is why I call them trip vines. And there are some growing within the gardenia bush and at the first sign of them I cut or rip them out. They are very tenacious and keep coming back but I am determined to be the victor in this struggle with the trip vines. They are also located by the back fence and I keep after those vines as well. I am really their nemesis. If they would produce some flowers I might not be so tough on them but all they produce is thorns. Do you have a yard or garden pest or weed that you go after with a passion? By the way, sand spurs aren’t much fun either and they get into the cats fur all of the time, both Tammy and Dolly and Mary works diligently on getting them out of their fur ASAP. The dawn has broke and it is time to go. This morning I am having left over grits for breakfast. I got up early yesterday (Sunday) and I thought that we were having grits for breakfast and so I made some grits. When Mary got up she told me that we were having pancakes so I put the grits into the refrigerator to save them for today. The turkey has been removed from the freezer and is now down in the refrigerator to starts its slow thaw. Yesterday, we went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and it was just crazy. So many people. It seems that all of Orlando was at the same Wal-Mart grocery shopping for Thanksgiving. The aisles were almost impossible to get a grocery basket through. And a bottle of Heinz turkey gravy? Forget it, just a big hole where they use to be. I will stop by Publix today and get a bottle. Publix grocery stores are always well-stocked and well blocked. Clean, bright, cheery and a pleasant place to shop. But Wal-Mart is cheaper and so price wins out and we shop at Wal-Mart. But if I should ever win the lottery, then I would shop all the time at Publix. I always think of all the things that I would get and do if I should ever win the lottery. I could fill pages and pages of blogs with those daydreams. But until then, if you haven’t gotten your Thanksgiving supplies, hurry. Have a pleasant day. Lew

woodpecker nest?

In the front yard there are two southern oak trees on either side of the driveway. A couple of days ago Mary and I were talking next to the tree on the right. I saw a woodpecker fly in and land on the side of the tree. The woodpecker climb up to a higher point in the tree. I had seen this woodpecker recently on the tree to the left of the driveway. I commented to Mary about the woodpecker flying up but he was too high to see.

Yesterday I happened to notice a whole in the tree on the left.

The hole was about the size of a clenched fist. I have circled the hole in yellow. I thought that perhaps the woodpecker had made it for a nest.

I took some pictures and when I looked closely at the pictures, it appeared as if the rim of the hole was burnt. Also there appeared what might be a burn mark inside the hole. Now I am wondering if this hole may have been made by a lightning strike. I am baffled by the hole as to what may have created it. What do you think? All suggestions and theories are gratefully appreciated. So this is my bird story for Seaside. Have a good evening. Lew

Mary, Tammy, and Dolly

This is Mary holding Tammy. Mary is talking to the cat and the cat seems to be listening intently. Mary can hold the cat and the cat looks to be quite comfortable. But whenever I try to hold the cat, she wants to get away. I guess that Mary has the magic touch when it comes to cats. The picture is grainy because it was taken without a flash, through a window screen, and is magnified.

Mary has also managed to tame Tammy’s mother whose name is Dolly quite a bit. Dolly is a feral cat and wild. I can’t get near the cat but Mary can pet her and the cat comes to her because Mary feeds it. Look at the bushy tail, like a feather duster. Dolly comes around to get a handout to eat and then goes on her way to who knows where. Mary keeps her well fed. There is also Tony and Alex, feral cats who are her brothers. I guess that we have the whole dang family here. But what about the father? I have seen him across the street on occasion but he doesn’t come around. Isn’t that just like a guy? Out running with the guys instead of staying at home with the family? I think that comment will get a lot of response. Have a nice day and really cool weather will soon be here. Lew

cat bed

Tammy the cat likes sleeping on the bed. I guess that she considers it a giant cat bed. Interestingly, she always sleeps on Mary’s side of the bed. We have a Sleep-Comfort air mattress on the bed which makes the bed really soft. Laying on the bed with the air mattress is like floating on a cloud. She particularly likes sleeping on the bed after supper with a nice full tummy. Sort of like the lions in Africa that lay down and go to sleep after a big meal. She use to sleep under the bed until she discovered the top of the bed. However, whenever we have company she will make a mad dash at full speed down the hallway, into the bedroom, and under the bed where she feels safe. And stays there until the company has left. She has a sweet life here. Isn't there some poem about lillies of the field? By the way I liked the movie Lillies of the Field starring Sidney Poitier. I have it on DVD an I will watch it from time to time. The music in the movie is real good and has a catchy tune to it. Have a sweet day and sleep in tomorrow. Lew

sunrise

As I was sitting at the dining room table doing my early morning reading, I happened to look up and what a sight. It reminds me of a spectacular sunset but it is really a sunrise. I ran and got my camera and snapped some pictures. Seaside takes the sunset pictures and I take the sunrise pictures. Did you notice the spanish moss hanging from the tree towards the top center of the picture?

The sun that is about to peek above the horizon just lights up the clouds with red and gold colors which contrasts nicely with the blue sky. It is quite a sight and a great way to start the day. Today is Saturday which is big breakfast day. Carpe Diem. Lew

ant motel

It was the early 50’s and as my dad drove south on vacation along A1A to Florida, there were motels here and there as we traveled. And when my dad got tired he would select one of the motels to stop in for the night. Motels back then were just simply called motels. Now days, these very same motels are affectionately referred to as “mom & pop” motels. They were small by today’s standards and consisted of around fifteen rooms. A husband and wife usually owned and operated them. No big chain motels back then with the buffet breakfast in the morning and jacuzzi within the swimming pool area. The rooms of the mom & pops were laid out in a string in a long linear building. No square design architecture with a central courtyard, just a long building or two. These mom and pop motels were meant for sleeping only and then moving on in the morning. How does all of this tie into the ant picture above? Well, all of those ant holes in a long line in the cracks in the driveway, is sort of like the motel rooms aligned in a long building. So here is our ant motel in our driveway.

Unlike the “roach motel” “where they check in but they don’t check out” (Hotel California song by the Eagles), our ants can come and go as they please. We have tried everything in the world to make them “check out” but they just seem to persist. The major problem is that the ants are removing sand from under the concrete slab of the driveway and thereby undermining it. So remember that there are three different kinds of motels: mom and pop motels, roach motels, and ant motels. And now you have seen a picture of an ant motel. How many rooms are there? You have to count the holes along the crack to get the answer. But hurry, because every day there are a few more holes. And if you want to learn more about the life of bugs, just go to Disney and see the show It’s Tough to be a Bug. It is really good and I have seen it hundreds and hundreds of times. Really! (I use to work there). Be cool and enjoy the outside temperatures. Lew

red sweater

This is our Chihuahua sporting his bright red sweater to keep him warm as the weather turns cooler. Has really short hair and so he gets cold easily. He likes his sweaters. A nice dog.

Mary and I missed going to the movies today to see the new sci-fi movie 2012. Tuesday is senior day where we get in for $5. If we go on any week-day before 12:00 noon we also get in for $5. So we are going to the 11:00 am showing of the movie 2012 tomorrow. When we come out we will have lunch in the food court at West Oaks mall. There is probably a 98% chance that I will have Chinese food. Today I did a lot of odds and ends things outside but no one thing being spectacular.

Seeing Seaside’s picture of the ocean waves reminded me of my father and our Florida vacations. Did you know that my dad never went in the water? He wouldn't even get close to the water. I guess that he must not have known how to swim. He would just sit on a lawn chair in the shade of a palm tree a long way from the surf. I mean a long ways. He seemed to enjoy just sitting and relaxing. He had a high pressure job as a grocery store manager and when he went on vacation he just wanted to relax and unwind. On our Florida vacations my parents would take me to the beach one day and I would usually get a sunburn which ended any further trips to the beach. But I didn't care, after all my dad gave me $1.00 a day for comic books (10 comic books x .10 (ten cents each) = $1.00). That is 10 comic books a day. Plus all of the coca cola that I wanted to drink made me one happy kid. At the time, I just didn't think that anything could be better than that. Then I discovered hot dogs. Lew

movie memories

Just how far back in time can we go with our memories? I remember the very first movie that I ever saw on television. I think that you can guess what it was. Yep, The Enchanted Forest. I don’t know why for sure but I was just absolutely enthralled by this movie. It made a lasting impression on me. Pardon the pun, but I guess that you might say that I was enchanted by it. It is a family oriented movie. I even remember the name of the German shepherd, it was Bruno. Over the years I never forgot the movie and as luck would have it, about 10 years ago I got an old time movie catalog in the mail and there on the pages in between was The Enchanted Forest. I knew that I had to have a copy of it and so I ordered it right away. I have watched it and the movie remains one of my treasured possessions. I will never get rid of it because it ties me back to my early childhood. Sort of like the movie Citizen Kane where the last dying words spoken by Orson Wells was Rosebud. Rosebud was the name of the snow sleigh that he had as a child and so as he lay dying his memory went back to his childhood and his sleigh. So too with the movie The Enchanted Forest. Sometimes it is strange what we remember from childhood and seems important to us. From my memory as a six year old child in New York was a boulder. Yes, a granite boulder about three feet in diameter. What made this granite special was that it sat in a field of high golden yellow grass. I found the sight impressive because of the golden weeds. I have always had an appreciation of the beauty of nature from the earliest age. What fascinated me was that the boulder was in this field all by itself without any other boulders close by. I was too young to know that the Hudson river valley was carved by ancient glaciers and as the glaciers retreated they left all these boulders scattered here and there. Now doesn’t the scientific explanation take away some of the beauty and mystique? But I have always wanted to see the boulder one more time and get a picture. So when Mary and I went to New York I dragged her miles out of town to this house where I use to live and the field containing the boulder which was located across the small rural road from the house. I found the house and I looked at the field.

This is the house that I lived in and the boulder and wfield was straight across the street from the house. A lot of memories from this house. But what about the field and boulder? Yeah, there was now a house on that empty field and the boulder was gone. It was probably removed by a bulldozer so that the owners of the home could have a nice unobstructed green lawn. I wish that I had a picture of that old boulder to share with everyone but the only picture that remains is in my minds eye. Poor Mary was very obliging to go along with me on these quests of mine of my childhood memories. I had a good childhood with lots of good memories and sometimes it is enjoyable to retreat back into those memories and daydream to relive them once again. What is your absolute earliest memory? Just how far back in time can you remember? Which memory is your favorite? Questions, questions. So much to remember. Everyone could write a book on their life experiences. Go forth and have a great day and make some more pleasant memories. Lew

I scream, you scream.........

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream”. Remember that childhood saying? Well , what luck. I walked out into the backyard this morning and there is this ice cream truck parked in my neighbor’s back yard. During the summer months when I was very young and living in New York, we had a Good Humor truck come through the neighborhood once each night. All of us kids would gather at the intersection of Cherry Hill road and North road waiting for the arrival of the Good Humor ice cream truck. We would all be clutching a dime. It seemed that no matter what the item was, it cost a dime. There was such eagerness and anticipation and when the Good Humor would finally arrive, he was mobbed by kids, each wanting his ice cream treat first. I always got the same thing, an individual serving of Dixie vanilla ice cream in a container. Later in life I learned that chocolate is better than vanilla. I liked these ice cream containers because when I pulled the lid off, I would lick the ice cream off from the underside of the lid to reveal a picture of a movie star. Each time there would be a different movie star. Seeing the picture was a treat. Almost as good as the toy in the Cracker Jack box but not quite. They had nice toys in the Cracker Jack boxes way back when and I am sure that they were all choking hazards but I was fortunate and never chocked on any because I always emptied the Cracker Jack caramel corn into a bowl to retrieve the toy. The caramel corn was then placed back into the box and eaten while I played with my new-found toy. Anyway, waiting for the ice cream man in the early evening after supper became a tradition amongst the neighborhood kids. It is amazing how much enjoyment I got for a dime. A good memory from the past. It seems like yesterday. So if an ice cream truck should come down the street, run out to it and get an ice cream treat, but take more than a dime, a lot more. Lew

good news, bad news

How many people remember these old wringer-style washing machines? My mom had one, and like this one in the picture it was on wheels so that it could be rolled around. My mom kept it out on the back porch and rolled it into the kitchen when it was time to do the laundry. What with my brother and I and my mother and father, we were a family of four. Four people generating dirty laundry. My mom worked six days a week along with my father and the only day that she had off was Sunday. But she couldn't rest on Sunday because she had to prepare the traditional large Sunday meals plus do all that laundry. And she had to do it in an old fashioned wringer washing machine. Ours was really old because it would not pump the water out of the tub but rather the water had to be drained out of a hose at the bottom of the machine one bucketful at a time. I would take each bucket when it was full down the back stairs and pour it onto the grass outside. There were quite a few buckets of water in the machine and so it was quite a chore for me which I dreaded. I was young (around 8 or 9 years old) and the buckets really felt heavy to me. One day my mom had to leave the kitchen with the washing machine running. I thought that I would help my mom by putting the clothes through the wringer. You guessed it, my fingers got caught in the wringer and started pulling my hand in. Then it proceeded up the arm. I was screaming hysterically. My mom heard my screams and came running downstairs and hit the emergency release bar on top of the wringer releasing the rollers and my arm. My arm had actually gotten into the rollers all the way up to the armpit and so my mom arrived just in the knick of time. Some aspects of the good ole’ days just weren’t that good. I just wanted to write about my experience to bring back some memories for the senior folk and to let the junior folk know what life was like. It is true that “a woman’s work was never done”.
So what does the above story have to do with “good news, bad news”? Absolutely nothing. But I do have some good news and some bad news. Which should I tell first? Let’s get through the bad news first. The bad news is that I fell asleep Friday and slept all night right through the scheduled 1:00 am launch of the Atlas missile. I had wanted to see the fiery trail of the rocket in the night sky. The good news is that the launch of the missile was scrubbed and I got a good nights sleep and didn’t get up needlessly. I know, you were expecting some really exciting bad news and some really exciting good news. I guess that I just lead a sort of mundane life. But living here in Orlando, Florida makes up for all of that mundane stuff. Maybe I will go to Downtown Disney next week. After all it is free, no admission, and free parking. Can’t beat that. All non-Floridians, eat your heart out. But do try to have a nice day. Lew

blustery winds

It was nice and windy yesterday. The low clouds were just zipping on bay going from east to west. It was fun to watch them. Since it was still a little warm the breeze felt good.

The extent of our wind damage was a blown over lawn chair. Sort of anticlimactic, isn’t it? A blown over lawn just isn’t very exciting. But wait, it gets better.

The neighbors canopy blew over and I assume that the canopy will not be as easy to put back up as my blown over lawn chair. As you can se in the picture, the grass is already starting to dry out from the lack of rain and the lilies along the fence are going into hibernation until spring. It is always interesting that no matter how bad the grass looks when it dries out, it comes back with a vengeance with the rains in the spring. The area between the yellow hose and the fence is our sand pit of sugar sand. It doesn’t look like it though, does it? But when we take our self-propelled lawn mower over this area of the yard, the turning wheels of the lawn mower just dig right down into the sand until the chassis of the mower is dragging on the sand. And of course, the cutting blade is scooping up the sand and blowing it everywhere. I turn into a human tow truck and have to manually push and drag the mower through the soft sand in this part of the yard. It is quite difficult to do and I always dread doing this part of the yard. We are considering getting a riding lawnmower since both the front yards and the back yards are much larger than usual. Perhaps the riding mower will do better in the sugar sand. This morning before dawn when I stepped outside it was warm which is a harbinger of warmer temperatures today. When will the cooler weather finally get here for good? Have a cool day with some lemonade and we will be enjoying the air conditioned interior of the movie theater while we watch a movie, eat our fill of popcorn, and drink lots of ice cold soda. Sound good? Do the same, and enjoy. Lew.

free oranges

There is nothing like an ice cold glass of fresh squeezed orange juice with you breakfast in the morning. Fried eggs over-easy, hash browns, bacon, toast and a glass of orange juice. The all-american breakfast. What could be better? Well, if the orange juice were free, that would be nice. For those of us living in Florida and having an orange tree growing in our yard, we can just pluck some of those sweet luscious oranges right off the tree and presto, free orange juice. And the orange below will soon be ripe for the picking.

When I grew up in the rural farming area of New York, it was apples. There were apple orchards of trees everywhere. I would just go into an apple orchard and pluck a nice red tree-ripe apple right off the tree and bite into it hearing a “snapping” sound from the crisp apple skin as I took my bite. They were McIntosh apples and boy were they juicy. If I were out and about and got thirsty? Yesp, head into an orchard and pluck one of those nice juicy crimson red apples and satisfy my thirst with the aplle juice from the apple. And did I ever mention grapes? There were grape vineyards everywhere also. They were great big purple concord grapes. They were used for making grape juice and so were not picked until they were matured and very sweet. I lived about half a mile from school and so I walked to school (the old fashioned way, no school bus for me). On my trek home from school I would go right by a grape vineyard of concord grapes. I would go into the vineyard and pick one bunch of the concord grapes and eat them on the way home. And no, the people didn’t seem to mind. There were plenty of grapes. Sound nice? What could be better? Well, picking oranges off an orange tree in your yard in warm sunny Florida is what’s better. Free oranges. Nothing like free. We are also growing grape vines but they have to grow a little bigger yet before they produce grapes. Have a nice day and plant a tree (preferably orange) to help the environment. Lew

who will mourn the lilies?

I can tell that the cooler temperatures are here. The lilies are already starting to die off. Well, perhaps “die off” really isn’t quite the correct expression. They have gone to hibernate (sleep) until spring when they will be back in full force and full bloom. It is just a little sad to see them like this and I have to keep telling myself that they are really just fine. They are just doing like the bears who hibernate. And who is that cat off to the right side of the picture?

Yep, it is our cat Tammy. Work just fascinates her, she can just sit and watch it for hours. Some cat is beating her up because she has another scratch on her face. This time it is just above the right eye. Poor kitty. It is probably one of the strays in the neighborhood. She can stay in the house all she wants but she seems to prefer to stay outside. She comes into the house to eat and then immediately goes back outside again. However, we keep her in the house at night. She usually wakes me up around 5:00am to go outside by meowing at the bedroom door. Since that is about the time that I usually get up anyway, I just get up and let her out and then start my morning activities. For Mary and I, today was window washing day for the garage windows plus a couple of the house windows. Over time, the windows just seem to accumulate a light coating of dust. Not really noticeable unless I get up close to the windows. Now they are crystal clear. Gotta go and watch the latest update on the news of the shootings here in Orlando. A truly terrible thing. Mary made tuna fish submarine sandwiches for lunch with a cut Valencia orange on the side. Dessert was a crème filled chocolate cupcake with that white little swirly line of icing on top of the chocolate icing. It was good (naturally). Take care. Lew

Venus flytrap

This is a Venus flytrap as the label says. I got it for Mary for her birthday. I have never had much success at growing these. I assume that the climate probably isn’t quite right. We are leaving it in the plastic container temporarily to keep the humidity high.

Supper tonight was baked chicken legs. But not just plain ole’ baked chicken legs but chicken legs coated with extra crispy Shake n’ Bake. The seasoning was good. Stuffing on the side with a salad also. We each had one of those orange colored “sno-balls” for desert. They are normally white or pink but I think that they colored them orange for Halloween. Tomorrow Mary and I go for haircuts. Don’t you just hate the itchy little cut hairs that always seem to get down the back of the neck? And how about that storm down near Central America? Will it come here? I hope not. In my mind I had put hurricane season behind us. I will keep my fingers crossed. Have a good day and keep the faith (get a scapula medal). Lew

best friend George

Our cat Tammy loves sleeping on newspapers. I don’t know why. Could it be the crinkling noise that the newspaper makes when she walks across it? I am baffled. We discovered this by accident when we had some newspaper on the floor one day and she went over and laid on it. She has a folded blanket to lay on plus a nice cat bed with a foam mattress. But nope, she prefers the newspaper. She does on occasion sleep on the folded blanket. You can see that she has another love, money. She lays her head right on a picture of a dollar bill and when she opens hers eyes after a nice long slumber, the first thing she sees is George Washington.

I have heard of cats liking catnip and cats liking tuna, but this is the first cat that I have seen that loves money. A cat after my own heart. I wonder if she would like Abe Lincoln ($5 dollar bill) more than George Washington? Trying to find out could get expensive.

Today we are going shopping in upscale neighborhood south of Winter Gardens. They built a really fancy shopping center with all upscale shops. The homes in the area are magnificent. We are looking for an art store for art supplies like oil paints and artist brushes for Mary for her painting. Currently, the only art store that we know of is way out east Colonial Drive. We are hoping to find something closer. Sometimes she goes to Michael’s arts and crafts store but they don’t have the selection that she needs, especially in the variety of oil colors. It should be a fun time. Gotta go. It is suppose to be cool today and so enjoy the day with lots of outdoor activities. Lew

panda, panda

I know that we have all heard the childhood joke, “Do you have Prince Albert in a can? Well, you had better let him out so that he can breathe.” Yes, I played that joke on a store owner once when I was very young. Well, here is a picture of “a panda in a bottle”. Seaside’s friend Dee should have one of these also. We also have hand soap dispensers with nothing inside, just the stem for the pump. Rather bland. How nice it is to dress up the bottle with the little panda.

Similar to Mary having colorful flowers (artificial) at various locations throughout the house. It makes for a cheery place to live. Sometimes it can be the little things in life that make living more pleasant, like the pretty flower below growing unexpectedly on a fence line.

Have a pleasant day and I hope that everyone enjoyed their extra hour of sleep this morning. Well, everyone except for the people living in the state of Arizona. Arizona is the only state that does not change the time twice a year. It stays the same. So those folks don’t get the extra hour of sleep. And don’t forget to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Now, don’t forget. I am counting on everyone to remember. Very important. Have a nice day. Lew