Cooking up thoughts for the day

I got some homemade cookie creations cooking in the oven around 4:30 in the morning. I am an early riser to get a jump start on the day. There is lots of traveling on the road today and I would like to be somewhat prepared. I have to watch the cookies so they don't burn and hopefully they will turn out good. I put in keylime juice and made them somewhat like sugar cookies. The dough tasted ok so I hope the final produce does as well. There isn't too much more to say about global Warming around here, because I believe people real do know what they are getting into with development. They cut the trees down and use up the water and ignore what happens to the wildlife and wonder why are hurricanes are so intense. There use to be an old commercial that says "You can't fool mother nature". This to me rings very true. The cookies are starting to brown and smelling up the house. I hope you can imagine what they would taste like if they are cooked right. It is also the last day of June and the day before the Shuttle Launch on Saturday. I guess I am just ready for the weekend.

Travels

The one good thing about the rain is that it makes everything grow. On my travels, I pass by this vegtable stand that has giant pumpkins growing in their vegtable fields. They are a bright orange color and I haven't taken a picture of them yet. I consider this one of the plus benefits of driving in the rain.

Launch in July

The news is mentioning the shuttle launch on Saturday. I hope it goes off good and there are no delays or no trouble. Meantime, it is off to work and the middle of the work week. Next week the Fourth of July will be here on Tuesday and it will mean an extra day off of work. This will mean an extra day of rest which I will enjoy very much.

Rainy Weather

It seems that being on the go all the time makes it hard to keep track of the weather. I did drive through some rain yesterday, but I missed the worst of it that came while I was working. Usually when the subject is about the weather, a person would really have nothing to say. This is the hurricane season and rain is almost a full time activity for me. Rain makes vegetation greener and cuts down on the chances of wildfires. We had a dry spell the previous month and had wildfires which closed down our roads. It also scorched the pine trees that were probably scheduled to be bull dozed to make way for the new sub-division. The main artery road was closed down one day and that stopped me from going to work. I figured the other ways would take to long and the day would be gone by the time I got to work so I called in and had a day at home. Before hurricanes come, I arrange more time off from work and mom and I go over to my sister' house and set up camp until the storms are gone. Is this dramatic weather due to global Warming? I couldn't say for sure, but it makes me want the fall and the winter season back again.

It is the start of a new week

Monday is here and it is off to work in the rain. Eek!! Saw Al Gore's movie yesterday and thought it was lots of fun, but didn't get the Global Warming theme delivered. I enjoyed the pizza afterwards and the drive home. We didn't stop at the vegetable market where the giant pumpkins are. I would have liked to have gotten some pictures, but it just wasn't time. I hope this is a good positive productive week.

The mystery of a computer

The computer is a big mystery to install virus programs. Hopefully later the answers will be revealed.

There are no big alien movies play at the movie theatre this weekend. Mom and I talked about seeing the new Al Gore movie, but we will see how the day schedule goes. We might get sidetracked with other things. I heard that Ace in Winter Garden, Florida was having a sale where you get a percentage off on what you can fit in a bucket. You also get the bucket free. They will also have a drawing for a fancy grill and also have Tom (I cannot think of his last name) who is the garden expert of the University of Florida there giving advice. I did briefly look at the stars in the sky last night and saw some twinkling lights which I haven't noticed in a long time. The weather is still warm and I guess I will have to use imagination to enjoy cool weather for a while. I hope it doesn't rain too hard when I go back to work. I can enjoy rainy weather when I am home, but I don't like to drive in hard rain and lighting storms. They seem scary.

Old Wedding photo

If I could use a time machine, my one wish which would be to step back in time to see my parents get married. This Cathedral is located in Logansport, Indiana and I got to visit it a while back. The Cathedral has no air conditioning unit. I can't even remember if I saw any fans or not. I kind of don't think so. I guess looking at old pictures is the only way for me to visit the past.

The reason for war

When I came home from work last night, I discovered two young men try to sell my mom a telephone plan to pay less money. It was a one shot deal where you sign up right now and you give the person over the phone your social security number which may end up in India and you could pay 10 bucks less than your current phone bill plan. Both young men claim to be in the military reserves and was doing this job as a side line. They were well mannered and came from Daytona and were very involved in their church. One of the young guys claim to be going back to war in Iraq in two years. I being opposed to this war situation based on what news I hear on television suggested to the one guy " Have you heared of Canada?" He quickly told me he couldn't go. I reminded him of the two soldiers that recently lost their heads and were killed over there. He reminded me that his Pastor said "if it is your time to go than it is your time to go." All sorts of anti-war arguements brew inside me, but I let them go when mom made a solid refusal of revealing her social security number to some guy in India over the phone. She reminded the young soldier that some things are sacred and your own. The two guys drove off in their SUV with no sale and me wondering what blind loyality would lead them into a war with no end. Last night I poked my head outside again and looked at the stars so bright and so far away. I enjoyed them for a short time and came back. I rested overnight and got my coffee to face the world again.

Middle of the week

I am up and off to the races. At least my mind is working that way. Last night I got a brief look at the stars and could hear the ocean crash against the shoreline softly in the background. It was hot and humid and I tried to imagine the weather being about 40 or 50 degrees. Today is suppose to be the first day of summer and I am sure it is just as hot outside as I experienced yesterday when I went outdoors. Summer is here and I am ready for fall.

Resistant to Change

When I am drinking my favorite coffee, it seems like all is right with the world. I like to settle into a usual routine and drink coffee. It seems to help me think. I think about what to write on the blog and I think about the days events and how to tackle the day's problems. Some people like changes and others like me fight it tooth and nail until that change is over. I usually like the results once the change is complete. It is just the in between process that turns my world upside down. The changes I refer to is changes at work. Like when your desk gets turned to face the wall and your stuff gets moved around. I know the end result will be better, but it is a struggle to change. Driving home or around Orlando, I see so many new sub-divisions being built. I have memories of how it looked in the past and to me this should be apart of the present, but it is not going to happen. There is one sub-division called Sterling Meadows. The houses are going to be big and nice, but in my definition of Sterling Meadows this sub-division doesn't fit at all. There are too many house lots and no open fields. Driving over the South bridge at the beach, I see boats parked in the water not moving. There is no wind changing or driving the boats anywhere.

FUTURE JAWS

I took two pictures of a baby shark according to the others standing around a sand bucket. The adult there returned this creature to the sea so he can grow up and be a big shark and threaten the surfers. Maybe this one will stay out of trouble. Maybe?

The day after the memorial service and it is Sunday with birds chirping that morning is here. Over at the beach, there are no roosters crowing so I guess it is the job of other birds to start the day. Sometimes when you think you have taken pictures with your digital camera, but find no pictures when you try to down load can be disappointing. I find myself again relying on memory to paint a picture when I feel the digital camera would do a more vivid job and bring the events to life. The service was nice and I enjoyed myself until the middle of the afternoon when the heat was beating down directly and it seemed to be no escape from sweating and baking. I wanted to be in a cold air conditioning place where I could pretend it was really 40 or 50 degrees outside. I was melting like candle wax and I needed the coolest place around Orlando which would be the mall. After the service, I thought I had captured the little girls playing in the plastic pool next door until I got home and realize the pictures weren't there. I also missed my sister falling backwards in her plastic chair with her feet sticking up in the air. I guess it was so hot the the girls in the pool decided to run around in there birthday suits. I am not sorry to miss that, but I am sorry not to see the embarrassing look of horror of the parents. Those kids will hear about it from their parents for the next twenty years. My mom and I saw Prairie Home Companion the movie for the second time. We saw it with my sister which it was her first time and she enjoyed it a lot. My mom and sister like Merryl Streep and think she has a lot of talent. I guess the best part of the day for me is getting home and unloading my good clothes and getting back into my comfortable everyday type clothes that no one but me would enjoy.

Remembering a close friend

This entry is dedicated to Greg Valdespino. He was a close friend of the family and my parents knew him and his family growing up through childhood. He had lost his fight against cancer but he had his mom's spirit of not giving up. Living every moment to the fullest and making the most of what you have. Greg also had a compassionate side which I saw after his mom died. He had told me he had been crying which meant he had a close attachment to his mom. He also seemed very proud of his son Jason who is in the military and his daughters. I hope the best of his traits are passed on to his children.

Press the escape button

Welcome to the weekend. This is the kind of picture which invites you to visit the ocean. In this picture there are no boats out on the water. The water looks as cool as the sky looks blue. Work is a distant faded memory. The air is fresh and clean. The picture lacks sound of the waves crashing on the shoreline, but I can imagine it in my inner soul. May your weekend always be as wonderful as the view in this picture.

Looking Ahead

I got a late start writing, but I still have the jump on writing my blog compared to other people I know. As the weekend gets closer, I hope for better weather and a chance to get out and see more beach. The sun goes down so quickly in the evening and comes up before 6 in the morning. I want to hear the crashing of the waves and kids running in and out of the water having lots of fun. The Lake house is playing this weekend and I look forward to see it. The movie could just as easily be named The Beach House. The movie is a romance and I like romances as long as it isn't too sappy.

Drive over bridge to work

It is Wednesday and the middle of the week. Hopefully not so much rain and water on the roads. I have just finished making my two pots of coffee. One big which is regular and the smaller one which is Barnie's flavored coffee. When big things are happening in the world, I take pleasure in the small things around the house like cutting branches in the backyard. I thought about getting the lawn mower out and mowing, but I wasn't motivated. I guess I could blame it on the weather. Most of the rain had cleared out, but the humidity was unreal and not easy to handle. I was suprised that just after a little bit of cutting, I was doing more sweating like I was part of a dish of soup. The coffee goes down real easy this morning. I hope this will be a productive day at work.

The rain kept me home yesterday. It may do the same today. The bad rain storms that come with a tropical system such as this Alberto doesn''t look like fun for driving. The weathermen keep talking about isolated tornados. I don't wish to encounter that when I am on the road. Mom and I went to the movies and saw Prarie Home Companion. I though it was good, my mom thought it was good and so did the lady laughing her insides out behind us in the theatre. I have the coffee brewing this morning. I have two pots one is the regular coffee which my mom likes. The other is the flavored coffee which I enjoy.

What is the purpose of the turkey? Some say it makes a great Thanksgiving dinner. My sister's turkey Puffer is to gobble to people and chickens and tell them how they are suppose to act. Puffer is a bold bird that doesn't get hurt or bothered by my sister's dogs. Pictured in the front is Fetch who wants to be the center of attention in everyone's lives. She leaves Puffer alone pretty much. Puffer helps himself to the dog and the cat food and follows people around spreading his feathers and gobbling. My sister said that he gobbled at the horse vet that was trying to let Glendon know that one horse was pregnant and the other horse had an infection. Puffer's head gets very hot when the weather is warm. I sprayed him with cool water yesterday and he felt good afterwards. He still pants through his mouth. I guess it is a way to keep him cooler. It is back to work in the rainy turkey of a weather, but I have the memories of a fun weekend with Puffer the turkey and swimming in my sister's pool.

weekend at Glendon's place

Mom and I spent the night over at my sister's house. She made us potatoes salad and cooked some baked chicken. I got to go swimming over here. I got to play with the turkey, chickens and the kitty cat. We go back to New Smyrna today and start a new work week.

Last night's dinner was the lucious lump crab cakes with a hot baked potato and carrot and raisin salad. Mom fixed this feast at home and the crab cakes just melted in my mouth. It is the weekend and it is suppose to be very hot. I got two pots of coffee waiting for someone to drink it. One regular and the other Barnie's flavored coffee. The cardinal is churping outside before it gets too hot. I probably won't get to the movies this weekend if I go visit my sister which is the plan for now.

The day after the party

The party was lots of fun. I ate steak at Longhorn's and got sung Happy birthday by the people that were there and the staff of Longhorn's steak house. New York strip steak is real good with a hot baked potato and salad. Today's lunch should come from Mc Donalds in Ocoee. I go from the rich to the plain. I enjoyed the gifts I got some nice DVD's and a starbuck's gift certificate and some gator shirts and shorts and lots of stuff, plus balloons and a vase of fresh picked flowers from my sister. We didn't get any pictures, but I still can use my memory to say it was a fun time. I didn't take a picture of my cake so I borrowed a picture of my sister's cake. Happy birthday day after to me.

It is here. I have arrived. I am now age 43. It is official. I have a great excuse to think about me for at least one day. I can sing Happy Birthday to Me. I can tell everyone on the planet. I can plaster the announcement on the internet. Boy, this sounds like a fun day. Lunch will be at Longhorn Steak house and my sister is bringing a birthday cake. I am looking forward to some princess treatment. It should be lots of fun.

Last Day at 42

Yesterday, I got a phone call from my former co-worker Dick who wanted to wish me a Happy Birthday. I thought that was so neat. He brightened my afternoon and I hated to let him go at the end of the day. I loved to hear nice complements that he bestowed on me. Today is the last day to make a difference at age 42. I plan to follow my usual routine of going to work. I stop at Starbucks along the way and I get a Mocha Frap. that last me all day, because I freeze it. I plan on leaving mom the truck which I normally take so she can get the turn signal light fixed. I believe it is just a bulb that burned out. This picture is the other one of my former Supervisor Charles. I tried to upload a sunrise, but the blog would not allow it. I guess this picture is pretty appropriate, because it has a Happy Birthday balloon in the background and it was three years ago when Charles made a surprise visit on my 40th birthday. After he left, my mom and I went to a restaurant called The Garlic. We both thought it wasn't as good as the other restaurants in the neighborhood. Lunch today will be at CiCi's pizza where for one price it is a pizza buffet and all the soda and dessert go with the main meal. May I endure today's lunch and enjoy like I did yesterday the view of the sunlight reflecting off the plants and water at the Osteen Bridge.

Launch Date in two days

I placed mom's basil plant back into the refrigerator, because it was wilting and drooping. I haven't had my cup of coffee yet and I intend on taking the truck into work today. I like the truck, because it has a cd player where I can play Bocelli and Pavoratti and listen to the morning DJ's. I have only two days left at being age 42. Wow, what a countdown to age 43.

Visiting the Sea

I discovered that driving is allowed back on the beach. Mom and I went to the beach on Sunday evening and saw cars parked. The cars weren't so crowded, because the day was leaving and the kids would have to be packed inside the cars as the beach patrol chased them out with their red flashy light on top of their Ford truck. The beach patrol guy wasn't the famous actor that had the talking car, but he did go around locking gates in his bare feet and shorts. The rest he was dressed like a regular cop with a gun, talking radio attached to his shirt with the beach patrol emblem. The little kids are so much fun to watch. They scream and yell and look so puzzled. There was also someone out para- sailing. The wind would guide him out to sea and when he changed the direction to come to shore, the sail would pick him off the sea and he would be airborne. Sometimes he would be airborne a short time, but a few times he looked like he was flying. There was also a group of young African-American women playing in the sand. These weren't skinny minnies. They were big, bold beautiful ladies who went into the ocean with their swimsuits and harmonized gospel songs. Afterwards, they came out of the ocean and went home their separate ways. They left a small void behind. It was getting dark and mom and I decided to head home and leave the ocean to rest overnight for a brand new day of activity tomorrow.

Only four more days until my birthday. I feel very spoiled around this time of year. Three years ago, I had a surprise visit from my former Supervisor Charles who was in the neighborhood working on his new job as an insurance guy. It was so nice to see him at that time. Afterwards, he became more involved in his new career and I went back to work with the same outfit that made us temporarily unemployed.

daily work

The weekends are fun, but they are too short. I just finished a week of work not including the Memorial holiday which came on a Monday. After being let go from the same place I am working at now in the beginning of 2002, I got spoiled with so much free time to play around and do my own thing. My mom was still working at the time and I would ride into work with her and visit people that I haven't seen in a good while. I would go to the local Burger King and have my fancy breakfast. I would do volunteer work at a place that I worked at long before being layed off. I found purpose in helping my friends out with their task of work. I also had the freedom to come and go as I pleased. My time was still mine. After a while, I was called back to work part time which was 25 hours and took away some of my time. I still found purpose in working and getting projects done. Now I am still working at the same place with lots more hours. I am working 40 hours and have barely any time for play, except on the weekends. I will have to do my main celebrating on the weekends, because my birthday falls on a Thursday. It is like I am still going to school. My work clothes are like uniform type outfits. I work in a building where I don't see the outside or breath in the outside air. At lunch time and time to go home, my eyes have to adjust to the brightness of the light from the outside. It is time to let the ground hogs out to play. However, I kind of like my fortress of work. I have lots of privacy, because people don't want to deal with me unless they need my services. I have a radio to keep me company and once in a while a co-worker will pop in to talk which they stay ever so briefly. They have projects that are required for them to get done. I called my sister and jokingly said "I heard you have more time on your hands." She had just be fired or let go. Someone was waiting in the wings just to take over her work environment. She didn't have time to even earn a vacation.

Small Bridge

In my travels to work and home, I pass over a small bridge called the Osteen Bridge. The view is all around beautiful. People take pictures and paint pictures, but there are so many aspects to describing the view. The light is different on the grass blades and on the water during different parts of the day. You have pinks in the clouds and grays in the clouds and real blue in the sky. If you could imagine being in an airboat the travel would endless. Also maybe some canoeing could be done. However, I bet there would be monster alligators swimming around for their next meal. The bridge is labeled with No Parking signs, but I don't see why they shouldn't charge for parking. This view could be captured by an IMAX camera and shown in a Disney theatre, but you wouldn't get the feel of openness and being apart of the grand paint of nature. I suppose with the increase in traffic the bridge would be torn down and another bigger bridge like the one over the St. Johns I-4 would take it's place. The view would be gone and no one would know what a wonderful view that God created. It's a masterpiece of artwork that the best artist couldn't master.