It was fun

Yes, it has been fun. But this will be my last blog for a while. I am taking a hiatus from blogging for an indefinite time. I always liked this painting done by Mary and is my favorite. I have it hanging on the wall next to my computer and I look up at it from time to time. I wish everyone a Happy holiday season and may you get lots and lots of fun gifts. Be good, and occasionally pause and take time to smell a flower as you pass by. Have a magical day. Lew

Turkey Day

Yes, it's turkey day and so the blog is about a nice Thanksgiving meal that Mary made. That is my plate in the foreground with some breast meat and the plate in the background is Mary's with a drumstick.

Did you happen to notice my glass? It is a Star Trek souvenir glass. See the starship Enterprise on the glass? The glass came all the way from Logan, Utah. The drink is orange soda. What flavor but orange would a loyal Floridian drink?

But now for a serious question. So many cans can now only be opened with a can opener from one end, which is fine by me. But once the end is removed with a can opener then the label on the can is upside down. Just look at the can of cranberry sauce.

The other end of the can can't be opened with a can opener. If it could, I would have opened the other end so that the can would be sitting with the label right side up. Does anyone have an explanation for this? Has anyone else had this same problem?

Mary also baked a pumpkin pie which turned out really good.

The pie was very flavorful with the pumpkin pie spice. After cutting a piece of the pie we put some whip cream on it before eating it.

And let's not forget our chihuahua Duke.

He is a house dog and stays in the house most of the time. He must have been smelling that turkey baking for hours. I can just imagine how hungry it must have made him. Mary gave him some roasted turkey scraps which he absolutely loved. Here he is opening his mouth just as wide as he can so as to get as much food as possible in each bite. It didn't matter to him at all that he was actually eating out of the cat bowl with pictures of cats on it.

All-in-all it was a great Thanksgiving with lots of turkey left over.

I hope that everyone has as nice of a Thanksgiving as I did and keep those turkey sandwiches coming. What are we having for supper tonight? Turkey, of course. Enjoy and, above all, be happy. Lew

The Swan

This is the most recent painting that Mary has completed. It is a swan painted on a wooden plaque. We have a park in the central part of Orlando called Lake Eola. There are numerous swans swimming in the lake and this picture reminds me of the swans in the lake. The swans don't fly away, probably because they are well fed and well tended to. The swans have also gotten use to people and they beg food scraps from people passing by. Sort of like pigeons in a park begging for bread crumbs. I guess that most parks have pigeons but here at Lake Eola we have these beautiful swans, just like in the picture. In the picture I particularly like the effect of the reflection of the head of the swan in the surface of the water with a little distortion caused by the ripples of water. Also, blue is my favorite color and this painting has a lot of blue in it. Mary tries to encourage me to paint but I tell her that I have tried painting in the past. It was paint-by-number and it was unbelievably terrible and immediately disposed of. I guess that I am left brain dominant.

Today is Tuesday and that means movie day. Mary and I went to see the movie The Next Three Days starring Russell Crowe.

The movie was a mystery/drama with lots and lots of action. The movie was a lot better than I had hoped for. Russell Crowe gave a nice performance. Before the movie we went to Cici's pizza buffet for lunch.

Anyone who lives in Orlando will recognize the logo. They had a special where two people could eat (including drinks) for $9.99. For that price we got all of the pizza that we could eat, plus refillable drinks, and all of the salad, soup, and dessert that we wanted. I had the barbeque pizza which was great. I know that barbeque pizza sounds strange but it is my favorite. Mary likes the spinach pizza best. They must have around 20 different kinds of pizza to choose from on the buffet. It was all quite good and we enjoyed ourselves.

Mary and I went outside to watch the Delta V rocket go up into the heavens from Cape Canaveral last night.

But it was dark outside, which was impressive to see the flame of the rocket engines in the dark of night. But unfortunately that meant that I couldn't get any good pictures of it. But watching the launch on television was quite spectacular.

Have a pleasant day and get a pizza for lunch tomorrow. Lew

Tree of Life

This is Mary's painting she did in November. It is the Tree of Life in Disney's Animal Kingdom. She painted it for me because she knows how much I liked working there. It was the most fun job that I have ever had. I actually worked inside the Tree of Life. I had so much fun that I am not sure that I can actually call it work. The painting is hanging in the computer room so I can see it often and be reminded of the good times there. As we use to say at Disney, Have a magical day. Lew

Delta V

A Delta V Heavy rocket is scheduled to lift off around 5:00 pm today. As you can see in the picture it actually looks like three rockets connected together. I plan on watching the pre-launch commentary on the news station starting about 30 minutes before the scheduled launch. This should build the excitement and enthusiasm of the launch.

I will watch the rocket lift off from it's launch pad on television and then run outside to see it in the sky. Hopefully Seaside will get some pictures of the launch. This is an exciting time to live in Florida with the rocket launches. I can't imagine what it will be like when the time comes when there are no more shuttle launches. But for right now I will enjoy the excitement of the space program. Have a great day and don't forget to watch the rocket launch live on television. Lew

The Prisoner of Zenda

The Prisoner of Zenda. I have heard of the book but I am embarrassed to say that I have never read it.

I like listening to recordings of the old time radio shows. I agree with Orson Welles when he said that the old time radio shows were the theater of the mind. I decided to listen to a radio adaptation of The Prisoner of Zenda.

As the radio dramatization of the show progressed I became completely lost as to the story line sequence. I really didn't know what was going on so I started to listen to it from the beginning once again. I was still lost. What was I to do? Just give up entirely? I needed something to set the plot and characters in my mind so that I could enjoy the story. Then I thought of it. The Classics Illustrated comic books.

I checked to see if I had a copy of The Prisoner of Zenda in the Classics Illustrated comic books and I did. And what’s more there is a list of the characters on the very first page.

I started reading the comic book version of The Prisoner of Zenda, and what a blessing it was. Everything in the story is falling into place quite nicely. When I finish the comic I will go back and listen to the radio dramatization once again. The Classics Illustrated comics were of a great help when I was in high school and now they are coming to my rescue once again. Have a great day and read a comic of whatever kind you want. Of Uncle Scrooge, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge was my favorite. And the superheroes? Plastic Man was my favorite superhero. Comic books were a great part of my life. I enjoyed them as a child. Don’t forget your childhood and the fun times that you had. Take care. Lew

Meteorite Men

I have started watching a new show on television that has really captured my attention. The show is called Meteorite Men.

The show follows two men as they search for meteorites with a metal detector. They use a metal detector similar to mine.

It is a treasure hunt for space rocks. I have used my metal detector on the beach, in parks, and even ghost towns looking for lost treasure. I always had that thrill that any moment my detector will turn up some valuables.

Sometimes they use a simple magnet to find the iron meteorites which is what I used once to find several small meteorites. Just like in the show, the magnet works really good when you have located a small area with your metal detector of where a meteorite may be. But their trials and tribulations and eventual discoveries appeals to the adventurous spirit in me. It is a great show and I really like it. Have a good day. Lew

the Carpenters

Mary and I went to the movies on Tuesday and saw the new science fiction movie Skyline. It was pretty good with lots and lots of action scenes. The special effects were really good also. I am just baffled at how they make the special effects appear so realistic. The movie did remind me a lot of the science fiction movie Independence Day but Skyline is still well worth seeing.

We saw the movie at a multi-plex at the mall. Each time we go to the mall I keep seeing this reserved parking space sign.

Now, I am use to seeing the reserved parking spaces for the police and the fire department, even the Employee of the Month reserved parking space. But this space was reserved for the Carpenter family. I was puzzled. Did they own the shopping center? I noticed on the sign that the reserving of the space had expired in 2008, but still I don’t park there. I don’t want to take a chance on getting towed because that is a pretty expensive proposition.

Besides, there was already a car parked there. Could it be one of the Carpenters? The parking space is almost always empty.

After the movie as we were walking through the parking lot to our car, I saw a mall security vehicle. I went over to the security vehicle and talked to the security guard about the sign. They told me that the reservation had expired and that anybody could park there. They said that they thought that originally the people had paid to have a reserved parking space. So rest assured that from now on I will check out this expired reserved parking space and park up nice and close to the mall entrance. Who knows, maybe people will think that I am a member of the Carpenter family. Have a nice day. Lew (a.k.a. Carpenter).

cough drops

There is a camphor tree by the back door of the house. The camphor tree is interesting because of its scent. Break a twig or crush a leaf and it smells like a cough drop. I guess that this must be where the camphor flavoring for cough drops comes from. It is currently bearing fruit which are falling on the ground. Here are some of the berries.

You can see the green stem that attaches the berry to the tree. When the berries fall off the tree, the place of attachment leaves a light colored scar just like acorns. I tried squashing one of the berries to see what was inside.

There was a hard seed inside which came out easily. The fruit of the berry seems to be pretty fleshy and moist.

I haven't see any birds eating the berries yet. I smelled of the squashed berry and it smelled like.........yeah, you guessed it, it smelled like a cough drop. Probably good for birds with a sore throat but no wonder the birds haven't been eating the berries. I just thought that this camphor tree was rather unique in the world of trees with its cough drop smell. Have a pleasant day. Lew

Tommy

This is Tommy, the latest addition to our menagerie of animals. He is a "tom" and thus the name Tommy. I thought that he lived next door because I would see him in the neighbors backyard. He wasn't starving but he always seemed to be hungry. Evidently he seems to prefer the food that we put out for the other cats instead of what he gets elsewhere.

Mary asked the neighbors if Tommy was their cat and they said "no". He must have been someone's pet because he is extremely friendly and likes to be petted and comes up to us whenever are outside in the yard. He may have been abandoned by someone. I decided to try and pick him up into my arms as a test to see just how friendly he was. Remembering what had happened to Mary when she tried to pick up the feral kitten Betty and the awful cuts and bite marks she got. I put on some real heavy work gloves for protection and proceeded to pick up Tommy with lots of trepidation. There was no problem and he stayed in my arms while I petted him. He seems to have a real sweet disposition.

He is a short hair whereas Tammy and Betty are long hair. Do you see any similarities between Tommy and Tammy?

Or similarities to Betty?

I know, they are all black and white. And cute to look at. They all seem to have their own particular personalities. Have a nice day and like Tommy, keep smiling. Lew

where's the turkey?

It’s almost Turkey Day. Well, yeah, I know that Thanksgiving Day is 2 weeks away, but Mary and I thought that it would be a good idea to get the turkey early while the selection is good. I have memories of Thanksgiving last year and my quest for a can of cranberry sauce a couple of days before Thanksgiving. I looked and looked and after going to many stores I finally managed to find a can. So Mary mentioned about getting the turkey early and I heartily agreed. We got a hen which is smaller and more tender than toms. It was only 58 cents a pound and the brand was Jenny-O. That’s the brand that Erik Estrada (the star of the television series CHiP’s) did a series of commercials for in the role of a CHiP’s police officer. I never expected to get a name brand turkey so inexpensively. And of course the selection was good and we got just the size that we wanted. My only concern was that the freezer was full of food and I could not imagine how a turkey was going to fit into the freezer.

This is our freezer and somehow Mary managed to get the turkey in there. Can you see it? How about a close-up.

Can you see it now? No? Alright, one more picture to help you spot it. You can see just a portion of the turkey circled in red.

It was really a challenge for me to spot it but Mary had told me that it was under the ice maker. I still couldn’t find it until I saw the blow-up of the picture. You can see the plastic mesh over the outside of it. By the way, did you happen to see the pumpkin pie in the freezer in the first picture?

This is the kind that has to be baked and then we can have some nice warm pumpkin pie after feasting on turkey. This picture of a slice of the pie makes me hungry for a slice.

Why is the pie sitting on ice cube trays when there is an ice maker? Sometimes the ice maker is a little slow or perhaps I am using the ice cubes faster than the ice maker can make them. So the ice cube trays are a back-up supply of ice. They are rarely used but nice to have “just in case”, especially in the summer time.

In closing, go out and do your Thanksgiving shopping early (just like the Christmas shopping). Now don’t wait until you get “a round tuit”. A gold star for Seaside for picking out the turkey early. And a gold star for Mary for getting the turkey early. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving but until then enjoy the anticipation of the meal that is to come. Enjoy. Lew

thirsty

I went outside early in the morning before the sun came up to get some pictures of the moon when I noticed some movement on the roof of Mary's car. It was so dark that I could barely make out that it was Tammy the cat. The flash from the camera really lit her up in the picture. Just look at her reflection in the roof of the car. It looks as if there is another cat walking upside down underneath her and they are touching paws. I had seen paw prints on the cars but I had always thought that it was the feral cats. Surely our cat would not be walking around on the cars leaving paw prints. But the photograph is undeniable. Actually it is probably all of the cats doing it. I snapped some more pictures of her but I couldn't tell what she was doing or exactly where she was doing on the roof of the car. It wasn't until after I had downloaded the pictures that I saw that she was lapping the moisture from the morning dew on the car.

I don't know why she is doing this because she has a water bowl in the garage, a water bowl beside the well, and a bird bath full of water.

She even prefers the dry hard meal cat food to canned cat food. I can't figure it out. But as the expression goes, "whatever makes her happy".

Today is Tuesday and we usually go to the movies on Tuesday. But today there isn't anything playing that we care to see so we are going to Denny's for lunch instead as our treat. The side salad at Denny's is so large that it is like a dinner salad. I always get it as one of my two sides. It sure beats getting green beans or cooked okra as a side. My other side is usually a starch like mashed potatoes (with extra gravy on them) or french fries drowning in ketchup.

Mary is slowly recovering from her wounds she received when she tried to pick up one of the feral kittens.

The kitten may be a little bit too old to try and tame. It is such a cute kitten until you try to touch it. Look but don't touch as they say. We like this kitten because she looks so much like our cat Tammy. In fact so similar that when the kitten becomes an adult we may have difficulty telling the difference between the two. Have a nice day today and do something special that is also fun to make it a truly fun day. Lew

Dream Car

Today Mary and I went to the Founders Day festival here in Ocoee, Florida. Where is Ocoee? It is on the west side of Orlando. Part of the festival is a classic car show featuring cars typically from the 50's. It was a trip down memory lane seeing all of these cars from my youth. Then I saw this car which I call "the car of my dreams". I believe that it is a 1956 Ford crown victoria. That strip of chrome going over the roof gives the term "crown" to the name. I wanted one of these so badly in my teens. I thought that the car was real sporty with the two-tone paint job and that little "V" dip of the white paint on the side of the car. And to top it all off was that chrome going over the roof. I just felt that the car was really classy. But alas, I had to settle for a 1955 mercury which was a nice two tone car and classy in its own right. If I ever win the lottery I will have a garage full of these Fords. There were so many cars to see. And the owners of each car were there by their car to answer questions. The cars must have numbered over 50.

They also had the usual arts and crafts type of fail vendors. And of course the usual carnival rides. We got to sit and listen to a country music band that was playing on a large stage with huge speakers. The speakers really boomed out the sound. The band was actually quite good. Mary bought a small bag of chocolate cookies that were being sold by some women's group. We ate the cookies as we walked around the festival grounds. We had a pretty good time and after a couple of hours it was time to go home.

We walked down by Starke lake and looked at the fountain. The fountain was nice. This is Mary next to the lake and fountain.

This is just an inlet for boats on the lake. The main body of the lake is off to the right of the picture and is actually quite large. Have a nice weekend. Lew

Ocoee Founders Day

On Saturday, Mary and I are going to the Ocoee Founders Day festival. There are all sorts of activities of which I like the classic car show the best. So many cars from the 50's beautifully restored.

There are literally too many of them to count. It is just street block after street block of these cars. My camera will get a good workout on photographing my favorites.

The weather is suppose to be nice and cool which will make the walking very pleasant.

It is perfect timing for the festival with respect to the temperature.

But the cool weather won't last long. By the middle of next week it will be back to 80 degrees. But what the heck, it's Florida and it is suppose to be warm in Florida. That is why people come here to Florida, to lie on the sunny beaches and swim in the warm ocean waters. Sound good? Yeah, it is. Especially when the snow starts to fly Have a good day and enjoy yourself to the max. Lew