Sunny Launch Day Saturday

The shuttle goes off the launch pad at 5:02 this afternoon. It is the Discovery on Launch Pad 39A. This launch should blast off without any glitches. The only thing to think about it is the best location to see the launch. It is a sunny morning and the sunflower is facing the road and the flower is brightly colored yellow. I thought it to be idea to include a sunflower picture to symbolize a sign of a hopeful day. Tomorrow will be the first day of June and a new month to create new memories. I have been anticipating my birthday that I made it this weekend ; instead of, next weekend when it really is suppose to be. Dinner will be cubed steaks with mashed potatoes and gravy. I didn't watch the Spelling Bee last night, but I listen to it while typing on the computer. The words were way to complicated for me to spell. I am amazed how kids could retain such information. I was instant messaging my friend Lillian. The conversation mostly revolved around the Spelling Bee. When I called my sister early this morning. I started to spell beep on her answering machine. She picked up on the message and teased me a bit.

It's Friday

The day is about over and we had salad and a Winn Dixie rotisserie chicken for dinner. It was mom, Holly and me. Holly sat below the table to receive finger fed chicken. She doesn't bark, except when she's watching at the front glass door and observing criminals and intruders passing by on the street, a neighbor who steps out of the house or the children across the street playing in the yard. She guards us , our house and our yard like a built in alarm system. To divert her from guard duty, I still have to take her outside and I think she will be ready to snooze for the night. When she goes out she likes to sit in the car, like she is going some place, then she gets out and comes back in the house. Her sister, Black Berry, is still at the vets for a bacterial tummy infection and Holly searches the house for her all through the day. She shows separation anxiety since she is away from home, away from her owners, and now she doesn't know where her lifelong companion is. When they are together, they play, sleep together, kiss each other, tumble and wrestle. Holly talks with her eyes, she tries to tell us she's worried, she's sleepy, she's hungry and she wants to talk. She's got terrific body language. The most touching example was when we took her to the vet's office to pick up Berry but the vet decided Berry needed to stay longer for further care and observation. Holly seemed to know where she was and why. When we came back, without Berry, when she was next let out, she went straight to the car, looked up at the car door and stood erect, putting her paws on the door and looked pitifully into your eyes. Her owner has called a number of times from Alaska using the cruise shipboard phone, and it costs him $10.00 a minute to find out how his dogs are, especially Berry. Mom decided Berry needed to stay with the vet until she was totally well and able to eat and drink on her own. We had a bad last weekend when she quit eating for 48 hours and we tried our best to force feed her as Howard had suggested we do. She is a stubborn little ball of fur and she would clench her teeth shut, and prying her mouth open was like torturing her, and that's what she thought was happening. We toughed it out for the three day weekend and then Monday off to the vet. By that time, she was quite listless and unresponsive.

Mom has informed my sister: "Don't, please, get a dog for Nancy for her birthday." Nancy says "get a stuffed dog instead."

The shuttle goes tomorrow. With this ideal clear weather, I think it will be a nice launch. Mom is trying to collect flowers to put into a vase to display on our kitchen table. Mom got a gardenia and a pink tea rose for the display.

I had an afternoon nap. There is absolutely not a cloud in the sky, and the temperature is in the 80s. So much for a quiet, restful, no crisis day. The photo above is a picture of the New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission administratives offices downtown, from whence originates our continued air conditioning, power, computer connection, water, trash, garbage and recyling trucks in two time a week pickups. An important service center that provides a restful afternoon nap because everything is working.

It is another sunny and bright day

We still have Holly here and she is like a third member of the family. She misses her dogie partner Berry. I miss Berry also, but I know she is being nursed back to better health. When the owners return from their cruise to Alaska, they will have three lively dogs to take home. The family will be complete. Mom and I can be like recovery Grandparents and clean house and open up the windows and let fresh air flow through.Next weekend will be my birthday weekend. I will be forty-five just like the record. It will also be the weekend of the Belmont which I will watch faithfully. Mom and I also learned the news one of our former neighbors died. She had a large family and we were next door neighbors like the one in the television show "Home Improvement."

Middle of the Week (Wednesday)

How many ways can you wish to get rich? There is the Lottery. Pick six numbers right and get millions of dollars. There is Play Five. Play Five numbers and get thousands of dollars. There is Scratch off tickets. If you are luck, you can win 10 dollars. There is dog racing which I never have played and would be sure not to win any money. How about Horse Racing? Do I place money down on the favorite for the Triple Crown? I heard from my sister that he has a hairline fracture on his front hoof. This is not good news for Big Brown or the people who would want to bet on him. I decided to research it a bit more before making the decision to gamble money away. I would like a reasonable good chance of winning. I bet on another favorite awhile back and he had to be put down. He busted his legs and the Vets tried to save him, but infection set in and he was gone. My friend Lillian is back from Delaware not knowing if she will marry her boyfriend or not. She returns to work today and probably will be greeted by a lot of assignments to get done with deadlines to meet and pressure to endure. My sister's baby chickens are about grown up. They are about to be introduced to the adult chicken group. Plus, hopefully Berry the dog will come back today.

Tuesday without Berry the black dog

My mom took one of the two dogs to the Vet. Berry will be looked after overnight. I hope she will come back a better dogie. Mom and I finished up the fried chicken and potato salad for lunch. My mom fried the chicken and I made the potato salad. The sky is so blue and the sun is so bright. I have a tuna fish casserole in the oven. Mom's sunflowers are blossoming out really nice. Mine in the back withered away for lack of water. Holly is snoring on the rug. She was so worried, but I think she will be glad to get Berry back feeling better. My mom had to cancel a doctor's appointment to pick up Berry. They had her on the phone for a half an hour. She had to call back before someone actually answered the phone. This is such a helpless feeling, not to be able to talk with a human. Music doesn't nothing ; except for, aggravating my patience. I get especially resentful when the machine says "Thank you for your patience". It is like the automated phone call I received from State Representative Tom Feeney. Now, you know and I know he doesn't have the time to personally pick up a phone and actually talk to you. Why does his recording say " This is Tom Feeney" when it really is just a recorded voice? Now I will tend to my tuna casserole and hopefully this will make a great meal. Turn on the TV and just relax the rest of the day.

Memorial Day at home

Mom and I have been blessed with good TV that puts us to sleep. Two little doggies that are very lovable. A good fried chicken and potato salad lunch/dinner. Plus, extra chicken and potato salad to share with a neighbor. We also have good air conditioning and news on TV to tell us what the rest of the world is doing. Unfortunately, one of the two doggies Berry is not feeling well. We plan to take her to the Vet to see what they say about her condition. Mom and I are both worried about her. Also Holly the other dog knows that Berry is not feeling well. Yes, they control our hearts. They are like little people who with their facial expressions communicate a whole variety of thoughts and ideas. I hope everyone has a good Memorial day.

Pretty Sunday

I got a late start this afternoon. I wasn't feeling well this morning. My juices have been recharged. Tonight, dinner will be a beef stir fry. I think it will take real good. I liked the big tossed salad we had yesterday for dinner. Tomorrow it is homemade fried chicken and potato salad. I am really looking forward to this dinner. It is very sunny, warm and a slight breeze. I can see the palm tree blow in the breeze. Across the street, there is a tropical tree that could be a palm but I am not sure is blowing in the breeze. This is the true Florida sunshine. It isn't too hot, it is just right. I like hearing about adventures that other people have over the Memorial holiday. Sunday Morning tv show had a story about taking a vacation at home. It seemed to be a one of a kind idea.

One of the two dogs got to encounter a cat yesterday. When I took Holly down the road a cat came up to me and rubbed her furry body between my legs and then rubbed against Holly. At first, she didn't notice it, but she became distant after awhile. The cat never hissed, spit or scratched at Holly. The cat was tame. It also rubbed against Berry and she separated herself from the cat. It is grey this morning and I won't walk the dogs till later on. The bugs just bite and leave marks and itchy spots all over.

Doggies come today

Mom and I have two doggies Holly and Berry come and spend two weeks with us. Meantime, their owners are taking a cruise to Alaska and doing a little gambling in Vegas. It seems to me the ideal vacation. The house here will be a lot fuller and they will take up a majority of our attention. Mom has spruced up the house for their arrival. I think it will be an interesting two weeks. The picture is Holly and she is a pretty little dog.

Almost the weekend

Is it going to rain? This is the big question of the day. This is also trash day and recycle day. Speaking of recycle, I carried out an old door to the curb which someone picked up and carted it away. I saw the new Indiana Jones movie. The movie was hard to believe. Indiana gets into a refrigerator and survives a nuclear blast. Its a fun movie and the special effects are great. The plot is not based on thought awareness. I like Harrison Ford, but I will wait on Indiana Four. Dinner tonight is hot dogs and baked beans. Mom also will have fruit for us to eat. We did get the rain, but no sunset. The rain will be a welcome sight.

music history

It's croak out a singing note Wednesday. Early in the morning over a cup of coffee, I tried "Time to Say Goodbye" again on the online karaoke website. I sounded like a frog trying to tune up an engine motor. Fortunately, not a loud frog first thing in the morning. Recalling my past, singing life revolved around church choirs. I learned harmony and by listening to other singers. I could read some music, because I had taken piano lessons, but I didn't stick by the book and the note structure didn't stick with me. The ability to count quarter notes and half notes was not embedded in my soul. They should have been, but I got by with the ability to listen to other singers and hear the way they sang the music. I even had one of those ticking clock things that helps keep a beat while I practiced my piano lessons. It was a useless instrument, but a playful toy.

I sang in Catholic choir, Presbyterian choir, and Baptist choir. The Catholic choir with other small kids like me sang mostly update modern Christian songs. I don't remember if I had to wear a choir robe or not. That was a long time ago. Later came the Presbyterian choir where I did have to wear a choir robe every Sunday for service. I sang alto and blended in well with the other singers. I felt the altos needed the volume support, and I sat next to someone who really read music well; I could pick up on her singing if I sat next to her. The choir instructor was into traditional music with all sorts of runs. It wasn't a matter of just blending the chord parts, but also delayed timing of when a section of music was sung. I also did a lot of volume control. I learned on sheet music when to widen the sound and when to retract the sound. I also learned to watch the Choir Director's hand gestures. She gave hand signals on when to increase and decrease the sound. I also just loved the way she handled the organ. I felt like I was well schooled in the musical culture of classical type songs. Unfortunately, the Choir Director moved on to an Episcopal church.

The Choir Director was replaced by my high school Choir Director. I would never believe this in a million years. He had his fiance sitting in soprano section. She was young, nice looking, proper and trendy. He was semi-good looking who needed a hair cut and to give up his smoking habit and bad temper. He did control his temper while at church choir, but when he was at high school he did yell too much along with a little bit of cussing. In the high school choir, I joined the altos again because some of the sopranos thought I was uncool. I didn't round my voice out like an opera singer. I joined the cool altos because they accepted me for another volume singer plus I could blend in and even up the level of the harmony of the choir. My high school Choir Director took the choir group to competition in Daytona. After this the whole choir went on to state competition at Florida State University. The girls had to wear peach draped dresses which were sewed from a pattern. The guys wore dress shirts and pants. The trip seemed exciting because we actually got to stay overnight at a hotel which I don't remember much about. I do remember the competition and how we lost. The choir lowered its' chord, because the lead soprano lowered her chord and the choir wanted to match her singing. The lowering of the chord was recorded on tape but the lead soprano singer wasn't brought out as being responsible for dragging the choir down with her. It is true the choir could have fought her singing by trying to stay with the original tune. However, it would sound worse on tape. The tape would have picked up on the difference of singing styles. I truly believe the choir did quite well in keeping the harmony level under such difficult times.

After high school, I moved on to the Baptist choir. I also made the switch to soprano. I loved singing with them because they were free to belt out a song. There was one singer who didn't stay long with the Baptist choir who tried to get me to go sing alto. He was also in my high school choir. The Baptists squashed him, by saying I was alright to sing with the sopranos and I was happy. I also took singing lessons and found out what I knew inside that I was a soprano and could sing whatever part I wanted to sing.

Many years later, I had that one shining moment of glory. I won a couple of tickets from the local television station to see "Phantom of the Opera" at Bob Carr. I had to sing a melody from "Phantom of the Opera" for 30 seconds in front of a television set at the mall and the television station awarded me two tickets. Mom and I loved the Broadway show. I especially liked the hanging ball which travels towards the audience and the fancy costumes the actors/singers wore and the fancy musical number they sang together descending down the stairs.

Discovering Online Karaoke

Online Karaoke is so great, I think it is an ideal teaching instrument of songs that I always wanted to know the words. I follow the highlighted word until the end of the song and I sang the whole song like one of the professionals some of the time. Michael Jackson's song Smooth Criminal is tricky with the lyrics. It isn't the words" Annie are you ok". It is how many times it is sung and at what tempo it is sung. I like singing "Time to say goodbye". I don't know all the Italian words, but I can pick up on some of them. I can hit all the notes so that makes it fairly easy. When I traveled to and from work, I would use my CD player to practice singing with the great singers such as Bocelli, Pavoratti, Brighton, and Domingo. Beverly Sills whom I admire, was one to rise on a high note and stay up there in the clouds where no one could reach her. The sun is out again after a grey morning. The humidity level is way high. However, we didn't get the rain over here on the Coast. Lunch was tuna fish on a split tomato with celery sticks on the side. Dinner was lunch meat sandwiches and potato chips. The sun seems to go down so fast. I get a glimpse of golden sunlight outside the kitchen window and then it turned pitch dark ; except for, the light across the street at the neighbor's house.

Monday wakeup time

Living close to the ocean gives me a chance once in a while to go and reflect my thoughts in front of the waves. As mom would phrase it, "glaring out into Lake Atlantic." I see other people out there probably reflecting on their own lives with loads of stories and problems they temporarily release into the wind to float like the pelicans on the air currents of their thoughts. Mom and I compared notes yesterday on ideal foods. When she was growing up in Indiana, for the noon meal, my mom would just eat corn on the cob with melted butter for a meal. Indiana grew corn stalks taller than mom and I together. The corn was full and juicy. I liked the white corn the best. The white corn was also very tender. I was recalling how when I spent time in Indiana with my Granddad, he would fix fried round steak with tomato sauce gravy from tomato paste. The gravy would be served over mashed potatoes and the round steak. Plus, the round steak would be cooked with mushrooms big and juicy. The mushrooms would squirt in my mouth when I took a bite. Dessert would be a blueberry cheese cake. The cheese cake part would be made from a box recipe and chilled. The blueberries which were the topping would be picked from an Indiana field. The blueberries would be huge and full of flavor worth the time and effort of picking. Florida blueberries are plenty and some are sweet and some are not, but this is comparing a true contender to a want a be blueberry. In Indiana, while the cows were being milked morning and night, Mom got to carry the pails of frothy, warm milk to the milk house, drink it and save some to feed the barn cats. Here. she buys milk for a little over four dollars a gallon. Mom was recalling how in Indiana through the tough economic times the railroads would help people out by throwing coal off the trains so the town residents could use it to stay warm. Here in Florida, programs to help the poor fall under much criticism. There are state and local government regulations and the paper work is probably done where you don't even know what you are signing. One truth remains between Florida and Indiana is the way you design a building regulates how it holds the heat and the cold. When mom and I went to a Catholic Church in Logansport, Indiana, this church had high dome ceilings and stayed very cool on a warm summer day. This was during the time my Great Uncle Forrest passed away. We stayed at his house which was small one story and had no air conditioning units. It was oven hot and unbearable at Forrest's house. On the way back home to Florida, it was a welcome sight to stay in a air conditioning room at the hotel. Normally, Forrest's house wouldn't be so bad. I had stayed in it before when the weather wasn't so hot outside and inside it was ok. The small house just held the heat real good which would make it great for the cold winter's months. The house we used to live at in Oakland, Florida. had high ceilings which was great in the summer with the fans blowing. It did not have air conditioning so in the winter time it could be extra cool if there was no heat available. Trees also help in keeping houses cool. Mom has planted extra trees around our beach house to bring shade to our roof. On one of the stories on the tv show Sunday Morning, it was about the cars downsizing to deal with the economic strain of today's gas prices. They showed over in France where the government is renting bicycles for a day and over there the cars are so small they look like clown cars. The half cars are cute to look at, but they are not practical in transporting. There is barely enough room for the driver to fit into the seat. It makes me wonder how soon do we go back to the horse and buggy. The only highway would be the information highway.

Brand New Day And Past Animal Stories

The day after the Preakness is kind of a let down. The party like atmosphere with me drinking a little champagne and anticipating a winner is gone. The party seems to be over. The coffee is mostly consumed this morning and the sprinkler system is watering the yard. What things I have to look forward to are the two little doggies coming at the end of this coming week. They will be staying with mom and me for two weeks. The space shuttle launch will be taking off the last day of the month at 5:02 in the morning. I think we will be having a chuck roast for dinner tonight. Mom also got some strawberries from Publix which taste real good. This is a picture of Holly. Berry, the black dog, is laying behind Holly. Berry's face is not visible in this picture. Many years ago, I had a small black poodle named Sheba. She was a very obedient dog that could stand on her hind legs and ride in a basket on a bicycle. She was my dad's bicycle companion. He would peddle the bike and she would let the wind blow through her curly black ears. Sheba stood up to a couple of young German Shepherd dogs, but later was chased by these two same dogs into submission. The Shepherd dogs learned they were bigger and could easy bully a small poodle. do When we had to put Sheba to sleep, it was hard on my dad. He never cried on the outside, but I was pretty sure he cried on the inside. I had two pet roosters named Happy and Easter named by my mom. They were both white in color and I could pick them both up and place my hands over their eyes and they would go to sleep. They were friendly towards me, but everyone else they attacked. They attacked my next door neighbor's kids and they would hardly ever come into my backyard with the chickens. They attacked my Great Uncle Forrest Geyer while he was hanging clothes on the clothes line. Forrest would go after one with a broom and the other one would come up from behind and spur him. They were like a chicken wrestling tag team. However, my sister grabbed them and took them off to the woods. She turned them loose and we never found them again. No more Happy and Easter. I also had a pet duck that my mom named Lucky because she liked the name Lucky Duck. It was a male Mallard duck I raised from an egg. This duck knew of no other ducks while growing up. He was raised by humans which were mainly women. The older he got, the more annoying he was to my mom and me. He would follow us out to the clothes line in the back yard with the top of his head feathers standing up and panting like a out of breath heart patient or train engine with engine trouble. He wouldn't even swim in our above ground pool. It made him nervous. He got our pool a bit messy so he was banned. Mom finally took him to a park over in New Smyrna Beach thinking he would take to the other ducks. The animals of his own kind weren't worthy of his attention. As a result, he was chased out by the pack of other ducks. He didn't blend in at all. He made a beeline for the South Bridge. We lost him. Lucky Duck's luck had run out. I figured he was probably hit by a car because he preferred to live as a human. The duck life didn't suit his personality. He did everything a Mallard duck would do, but not like other ducks. He liked people and loved women. I did have a good time with my German Shepherd dogs. The first one was named Ginger. She liked people, but hated cats. She would bust out of the backyard to run across the road to chase the cats and kill them. She would grab the cats in the back of their necks and shake them until they were they were dead. She got it into her head this was her goal in life. She also hated clapping noises. She didn't like lightning and when we took her to the ocean she tried to bite the waves. She was violated by a white Shepherd that climbed our fence to get to Ginger. Ginger was pregnant and she had eight of the fattest, cutest puppies you ever did see. When they were picked up, they would grunt. We would take a plate of milk out in the backyard and they would follow waddling out to the plate to consume the milk. It was hard to give them away. They all developed personalities. There was Bo who was the oldest. Chubby who we kept, The thinker who we thought about keeping and a few others. We took Ginger and Chubby to our next home which was in the City of Oakland, Florida. Ginger was put to sleep, because she developed hip disease and heart worms. Chubby left the same way. It wasn't an easy chore to bury them and snuff out what little life they had left. It still was better than the suffering they had to endure from the ailments. The animal raising was passed on to my sister Glendon when we left Oakland for the Coast. It gave us the freedom to move around and travel. We didn't have the responsibility of constant care for a pet. We are taking care of the doggies for two weeks, this for Howard, Holly and Berry, Being single does have advantages.

Preakness Saturday

I am on my second load of clothes washing today and I had my one cup of coffee this morning. The day is a hazy grey with the sun trying to peak through. The white butterflies are fluttering and playing around the flowers outside my front window. The white butterflies only come a certain time of year and they are gone the rest of the year. Later on this evening will be the Preakness horse race. It should be pretty interesting to watch. Mom wants me to make my famous drink with orange juice, triple sec, tequila, and cherry juice. I use to have that with Sunday morning breakfast. I bet the weather is nice in Maryland. The race was won by Big Brown. This is the second race of the triple crown. We had little bottles of champagne and not my mixed drink. I am convinced Big Brown will win the Belmont Stakes in New York and be the first horse in thirty years to win the triple crown. Big Brown is a big long beautiful brown horse. His coat glimmers in the sunlight. If you were a betting person, I would say this is a pretty solid wager to place money on Big Brown. The sunset pictured out the kitchen window is a pale yellowish white with a smear of pale peach skin orange. Looking out the front window is no sunlight, but a soft gray tone on the houses across the street with grey clouds overhead with tones of off white and pink. I don't know how much rain we will get if any at all. I still have to get the clothes out of the dryer and fold them. I don't know what is on tv tonight, but I look forward to coffee tomorrow.

Little money to play

I took my loose change and got cash from the bank and drove the Chevy S-10 truck to the Southeast Volusia Humane Society to look at doggies and kitties. I saw one in the website picture look kind of like a Colombo Dog from the Colombo detective series. The dog in the series was a Basset Hound. The picture I saw was a Walker Hound. When I arrived at the center, I saw the dog in the picture was alot taller than I imagined. I left the dogs and went to look at the puppies. There was a few Dalmatians. One Dalmatian with dots on the ears was extremely friendly towards me, by laying back the ears and nibbling on my fingers. In the cage next to the Dalmatians puppies was a pale white pit bull dog. This dog started barking at me right away. It wasn't a friendly bark, but a bark of I am targeting you out as the enemy bark. I dare not get to close to his cage. I didn't want to get bitten. I found out later his name was Bruno which fit his personality real well. Bruno also took favor on a guy who looked like he drives Ford trucks and chews tobacco and listens to country music. Good ole Bruno stuck his ears back and wagged his tail in delight. I did pass Bruno's cage to see a small Chihuahua. This small dog was friendly, but not as friendly as the Dalmatian puppies. The Chihuahua was a bit shy and had a small bark. I only took a small time, before going to visit the kitties. There was one cat who was restless in her cage. She just could not stay still. I tried to pet her, but she kept moving around. I saw two kitties that looked like my sister's cat. I also saw a small grey kitten that had a sweet little meow. It seemed like none of the cats were ugly, but some of the dogs were ugly. I thought of the price to get a cat is as much as getting a dog. I thought it should have been less. Before leaving the lady behind the desk said for me to come back when I am ready. I was really ready to eat some lunch. Lunch was at Eazy Pizza which is modeled after Cici's Pizza. The one major difference is this place charges more. These places are Buffets so I should be able to get as much as I wanted to eat. The time I was done, I didn't want seconds. It wasn't due to me being filled up with pizza. When I walked the pizza line, the variety did not look so attractive to me. I guess I am accustom to better attractive food. When I tasted the pizza, I could taste the cheap bread dough and the small amount of vegetables on top of the pizza. I could taste the commercial tomato paste. I was afraid to try the spaghetti. The best thing on the buffet was the instant potatoes and chicken gravy. The gravy was kind of good on the green beans, but it couldn't hide the cheap dough taste on the pizza. Also, I crunched down on the pizza and tasted something that resembled glass or sand. It was way too crunchy for me. I did like their clean bathroom, but the food isn't worth the price. I can make better food at home. When I finally left, I went to the movie theater and saw The Chronicles of Narnia. It was a pretty average movie. I am looking forward to the new Indiana Jones movie opening up next weekend. I am a Harrison Ford fan and hopefully the movie will be better.

Working together

Everything in nature has a harmony with it. This means things work together. Plant life works with animals. This is demonstrated by the oxygen that a plant produces. Animals breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide which the plant life can use. Some plants are a source of food for animals and some animal's waste is good to fertiliser plants. I like butterflies of different colors. There have been lots of white butterflies around here landing on the different flowers out in the front yard. White butterflies with yellow flowers and white butterflies on orange hibiscus are very colorful combinations of spring. I have also seen Orange butterflies, but not as many. I have also seen earthworms, but not this month of May, because the weather has been so dry. Earthworms like moisture and dark soil places to hide.They tunnel through the soil giving us humans the best part of the soil to plant. However, when we have a good soaking rain the earthworms come out on the driveway, die and shrink down to nothing. If I am ambitious, I could use the earthworms as fish bait. Saturday is the second part of the triple crown race. The race is called The Preakness and the theme song is Maryland My Maryland. The first part was The Kentucky Derby which was won by a horse named Big Brown. The second place winner was destroyed after breaking both of her ankles on the track. She did cross the finish line before she collapsed. Her name was Eight Belles and what a pretty name it was. Hopefully, she will be remembered with fondness. She seemed to serve her purpose of finishing the race. My former boss and friend Georgia lost her friend Pat who was her fiance for a short time. Their relationship was like Romeo and Juliet in reverse. Romeo and Juliet were known as a young lovestruck couple. Georgia and Pat were not young in physical appearance, but they were young at heart. They went places together and seem to agree on things together . Georgia was very protective of Pat and Pat was very loving towards Georgia. I hope he will always have a special place in her heart. The video in the corner ,you have to keep clicking on the white arrow till you get a picture. The picture is of a red rose which reflects the intense color display of flowers in my front yard. Tomorrow will be Friday and I will be switching the Folgers over to Maxwell house. I don't believe I will like it as well. Folgers is a more robust coffee. Friday came and I was able to scape out enough of the Folgers to make one more pot. I am enjoying this morning.

The nest is gone

The crow's nest has fallen and the egg was broken and so the nesting crow disappears never to be seen again . My next door neighbor told me about the fallen nest, but until I went back there I didn't realize she was right. The nest was gone. There was a little bit of twigs still up in the palm tree, but not enough to make another nest. The other idea I wanted to write about is the number of mosquitoes I see in the evening. They hover overhead like love bugs. However, love bugs don't bite people and make big welt marks. It looks a bit cloudy, maybe there will be some rain out of the clouds. However, the clouds cleared out later this afternoon and it is blaring hot again. I did see the crow one last time on top of my swing set. It seemed to be talking at me with the awk sounds it makes. It flew away and I figured it found a new home and place to raise young crows. This afternoon, I am stewing some chicken to make chicken and noodle soup. I will save some of the meat out, because mom likes to make chicken sandwiches. The news is saying that an arsonist may have been caught. This would be good news if it is true. The fear would diminish and places could be rebuilt. Even new trees could be planted to replace the ones scorched by the fire. The sun is finally going done and has cast a golden yellow glow through my kitchen window. As I look through the front window, I see a pale white light cast on the roof of the house across the street and the light is also coating the green oak trees towering behind the house. Mom and I are settling in for the night to watch the result show of American Idol. I do believe it will be the two David's left for the final show. I also believe the younger David will walk away as the winner. I would rather the other one win, but the younger one is more popular. Mom and I heard via e-mail from one of our former neighbors and friend, he and his wife is spending the summer at their home in North Carolina. This is a special place which the builders built the house the way he wanted it designed. The house has a view of the mountains and woods and I bet gets the coolness of the early morning air. My sister had that type of place in the North West Panhandle of Florida in a town called Wausau. Wausau was also known as the Possum Capital. The place where my sister lived was on top of a hill. The road was a Georgia clay and there was lots of land and hills. My sister had a tin roof which big giant nuts would crash against it and roll down onto the ground. We would take these nuts and roast them over the fireplace. My mom loved the view of the stars there at night. It was a 360 round view equal to or better than what you would see in a planetarium. Across the clay road, my sister had part of a hill as her land that went down to a stream. The Tennessee Walking horse she kept in the pasture was so scared of the deer. He was also scared to go down to the stream to drink some of the water. He would stay up by the fence line with his eyes as wide as they could open and snort loudly as a sign of protest. I have seen possums here in New Smyrna and where I use to live in the City of Oakland, Florida, but I never saw a live one in Wausau. However, I did see a picture of Jeb Bush Former Governor of Florida holding a dead one by the tail. He looked like he was holding a rat by the tail. It was kind of a quiet chuckling moment, because the Governor had to really mingle among the people and the strange customs they elite in like a possum festival. My sister still is kind of in the country, but close enough to city life that she is not isolated. She also has a swimming pool; instead of, a stream at her home. She doesn't have the Tennessee Walking horse anymore, but she has four mares that are uniquely challenging to maintain. She also has numerous chickens and a pet turkey. She has three cats and two dogs. She doesn't feel alone, because they all want attention to be fed and loved. The weekend is almost here and new movies come out tomorrow and next Friday. I am looking forward to seeing them open. City life does have it's benifits.

Enjoying more coffee

This is a self note to complain about the television drug commercials that get too personal. I think they should be Censored. I don't like seeing them while I am eating dinner. I don't like how the television stations play them over and over again like a form of brain washing. I don't like hearing about all the worst effects these pills can have on you. Somehow the mute button is not enough protection. What is the answer? Do I have to video record everything, to fast forward the commercials so I don't have to cringe? I wonder how many other people feel as I do in regards to this issue? My coffee kind of loosens my thoughts up and makes me more willing to talk. This picture is Berry and her owner Howard. Berry loves Howard and Howard loves Berry. When Howard stopped by today, he picked up his dog and she was so content. You could tell her heart belonged to him and he was the center of her world. The sun was intensely hot and the wind cool. Our neighbors have their yard trash out to be picked up tomorrow. I can see grass in neighbor's yards turning brown. Ours isn't so bad yet. The neighboring County of Brevard, Florida has so many wild fires that it seems like the County is burning up. Major roads are being closed and the smoke must be unbearable. I took a nap during the hottest part of the day and woke up wondering where the time went. However, there is a burst of energy that gets stored up so I am more charged this evening. Tonight will be the result show of Dancing with the Stars and the American Idol show. I want to know who leaves Dancing with the Stars and what the song choices are the singers choose on America Idol. I am drinking green tea this evening and will be drinking my Folgers coffee in the morning. I forget what age I started drinking coffee. I only know it could have been somewhere between sixteen and eighteen. I was introduce to flavored coffee from Barnie's coffee. My favorites are Chocolate Cherry Cordial and Sweet Heart Blend. The Sweet Heart Blend only comes out during Valentine's day. Later, I graduated to Starbuck's Venta Mocha Frappachino. I gave up Starbuck's when I got sick and worked back to Folgers which is really good. Plus, it is a lot cheaper. I like the feel of the warm coffee in the cup when I pour it out of the coffee pot. I like the feeling of warmth as it eases down my throat . The feeling is similar to being wrapped in a cozy warm blanket.

Taking a small trip

Do you remember what it was like to have a gas attendant pump your gas for you and not charge you extra over the price of the gas? Do you remember the gas attendant checking under your hood and washing your windshield? Do you actually remember when gas prices were under a dollar? Yesterday, mom and I took a trip to Ormond Beach to see a skin doctor and this is part of the explanation for this picture. The rest of it is the light on the wall where you can not make out the writing. The writing is actually the names of the doctors there and above is the name Advance Dermatology. The light is a reflection of the door as you walk into the office. It is almost like a nature film like projection on the wall. I thought this was kind of cool to look at. However, I don't think the picture turned out so good. On the return trip back to New Smyrna, mom paid 3.77 a gallon for gas. We thought we were doing ok considering the other prices we saw in the area. After pumping gas we saw the prices drop down to 3.72 a gallon. We didn't shop hard enough to save the few pennies from a cheaper gas pump. It was a good feeling yesterday to see the garbage man tossed the old microwave in back of the garbage truck and know that it was gone forever. This morning we will have company come a fix little projects around the house which will be nice. Mom and I will watch his two little doggies next week in return. The weather is so nice inside and feels good with the morning cup of coffee. Writing on the blog keeps me away from watching the news where awful things are happening to houses in our county and the county next door. Someone is setting wildfires and causing lots of destruction to houses and lives. Thankfully, no one has been seriously hurt, but the people who have lost their houses to fire don't know where they are going to live and lost a lot of valuables. I hope they catch the person setting the fires and get the fires under control and out so everyone can go back to their daily lives again.

What a weekend

It is Monday and I am with Coffee. If they could only make a car that would run on coffee, then I don't think I would be too bad off. The car would have to run on any brand of coffee and not be an elite Starbuck's brand. Can you believe the cost of gas? How do people afford it? If I could find a car that would run on garbage, I would be fit for life as long as the engine would run. You could rest assured that I would never run out on a supply of garbage. There still might be enough garbage for my car and for the garbage man that comes on Mondays and Thursdays. This morning I have to take out a microwave that quit working to the curb. Once it is picked up some machine will crush it down to nothing and who knows what will happen afterwards. I was mildly interested in Jenna's wedding which no one else remotely cared about. It was sort of a rich fairytale with an elite group of people in exclusive ranch that had a bride wearing a super rich dress. The bride was the President's daughter and the ranch was in Texas. The pictures released to the public were beautiful of the bride, groom, the two In law families and the maid of honor and best man. The pictures were enough to satisfy my curiosity. Now, if my friend Lillian were to get married, I would want to know all over again what the details of the wedding were like. Sunday, mom wanted me to make he a breakfast, because it was Mother's Day. I was surprised at the amount of food I cooked. It seemed like a small feast when it sat on a plate before me. There were scrambled eggs with cream cheese that was from Smart Start and had Omega 3 in it. The eggs also had cut up onion and a little cut up green pepper. I also cut up four potatoes and diced them with some cut up onion and fried it in Olive oil. I also seasoned it well with pepper, salt, and Misses Dash. I also made stewed tomatoes with soft Italian bread soaking up the juice. The final touch was a small dish of creamed cheese grits which I made in a small glass pan. I had a little bit of seconds which overstuffed me. There was still leftovers which mom packaged away that we could eat at another time. Mother's day also involved watching old movies and taking an afternoon nap. I do feel better after a nap, but I wake up wondering where did the time go? Dinner was kind of a snack thing at Shells restaurant. We both had a cup of clam chowder and I ordered a Seafood Sampler which had a bunch of fried stuff like clams, small shrimp and zucchini with three different sauces. Mom ate some and then she had enough. I kind of finish it with eating the centers around the breaded coating. I had the shrimp and zucchini without the breaded coating. I did eat the clams with the coating. I drank about a glass and a half of ice tea and mom didn't finish her free Bahama Mama drink. She said it was too sweet. We came home afterwards and watch Survivor and mom opened her card from me before bedtime. It was a great way to finish the day. Now today I start a new adventure. What it will be you have to wait and see.

Happy Mother's Day!!

It seems to be a lovely morning inside an air conditioned house. I am on my second cup of chocolate cherry cordial coffee from Barnie's coffee. It was kind of warm and humid yesterday, but the clothes did dry on the clothes line. The crows are still there, occupying the nest and it was less windy yesterday. Today is Mother's day and that was the sermon at the local Catholic Church. It was all about how great mothers are and what a difference they make in their children's lives. The man pictured here is my cousin from San Jose, California. His name is Franklin. He is sometimes known as Frankie or Frank and he works as a security guard in San Jose. Franklin is a lot of fun when we comes to visit us here in Florida. He usually likes to go to the attractions like Disney, Universal and Busch Gardens. He hasn't done Sea World or the Cape yet. Last evening, I was talking with my Uncle Perry from San Jose which is also Franklin's dad about what the weather is like in California and Florida. Plus, what conditions are like to travel to Europe. This was one of the things Perry said that he would like to do is to see different parts of Europe. He was interested in Russia, Leningrad, Berlin, and Scotland. He didn't seem to care for England, Ireland or the main parts of France. My Uncle Perry and my mom both share a love of Politics. They both love the Democrats and have strong views on the way Politicians should run the country. My Uncle Perry and my mom also have a past love of Indiana. They both have separate memories, but some of them are common and permanently planted in their minds as something good. My Uncle graduated a year before my mom did, but it was my mom who got a reunion notice. She was pleased it wasn't being held at a Country Club. It was being held at a park where the people in charge would serve Pizza and the next night a dinner at the local lodge. I talked with my sister this morning and she put in a hard day at work yesterday. She said it began at seven in the morning and didn't end until six at night. She does a lot of physical labor, because she is a hired ranch hand. She feeds horses, cleans stalls and gives hay out to the horses. Plus, she rides a tractor, and cleans out water tubs where the horses drink. I guess I will catch a little bit of the news and take my last snooze and start the day.

Traveling today

Today, I am using an old picture of me and the turkey. I love my sister's turkey. Seeing him is like running into an old friend. He poofs out in all his best dress and parades around trying to impress me with all his plumage. Last time, he didn't gobble as much and that kind of had me concern. I know he is feeling his oats when he gobbles alot. My sister is happy with the new set of baby chicks which are growing into regular sized hens and some are exotic looking. Yesterday, I was mom's traveling companion while she drove around to different body shops getting estimates on what it would cost to fix a few rust spots on the roof of her car. Living on the coast, we have this constant battle with rust. We lost a couple of bicycles, because the body just rusted out. She found someone in town that gave her a reasonable price, but won't be ready to take her car until June. She is using some clear tape to cover the rust spots until it is fixed. Today we are traveling to Daytona to get the vacuum cleaner fixed. Mom also bought a new microwave yesterday to replace the one that quit working. The new microwave has dingy bells and one touch features that so many things can be cooked without punching in a time. However, we do have to take caution to the fact that a higher power level really heats water super hot. The power level being new really heats stuff so we have to learn what works with the lower power levels. Mom has picked some gardenias from the gardenia bush. She wants me to get a picture of the bush this morning with the sunlight on it. The crow family is still next door in the swinging palm tree. I wish them well, raising a family under such windy conditions. Mom also paid for a hair cut for me at Fantastic Cuts which was five bucks. Reasonable rates to have this one look which is in the picture while other hair salons charge thirty dollars. The hair cut took only five minutes and my head did feel a lot lighter. Today is also Jenna's wedding day which has been all over the news. This is a private affair held at the Crawford Ranch and I sure will look super rich. How many girls do I know that can afford a Oscar De La Renta dress with oodles of brides maids. Star trek isn't on today, because it is the weekend. The Gun Smoke show is on with James Arness. Yesterday, mom and I also watched a bunch of old Andy Griffith shows and they were good filled with simple town values and people who were nice neighbors. This is one thing you don't get on the regular news. You also don't get Sheriff's like Andy Taylor and Deputies like Barnie Fife. What a nicer world if we had more people like them.

It has to be Friday

Yesterday, I discovered a big crow's nest on top of the palm tree in the neighbor's yard. I was taking down clothes from the clothes line and I heard a " awk, awk". I looked to see where it was coming from and there in the tree was a black fan like tail moving around trying to get adjusted to the windy conditions of the nest. Pretty soon you could tell the bird was sitting in the nest, because the tail didn't move. Another crow flew into the nest and stuck around only for a short time. The wind had turned strong and palm leaves were whipping around the nest. I figured the nest wouldn't last too long, because it was leaning. I would figure this to be the greatest ultimate mom for mother's day. She was so determined to stick it out to the end, despite the terrible conditions. Recalling a mother, daughter story is the train trip to Indiana we took where my mom bobbed a guy, because he didn't help me out of a jam. I had my hand caught in the foot rest on the train and the guy just hung around talking, and not helping me out. Mom could see I was in pain and she couldn't tolerate that. She hit him which kind of woke him up. He said " Lady don't hit me". She responded" do something". He got me loose and I was alright. Another little mother's story is our next door neighbors in Pine Hills, Florida had three boys and the middle one was named Gary pronounced (Ga ray). He had curly blond locks of short hair and was the class clown of the neighborhood. He came up with a rhyme

"Never fool with Mother's stew". This was in response to my mom making beef stew which he poked fun at it. One of the main dishes that I always liked was mom's fried chicken and potato salad. She made this a long time ago when my dad would drive us over from Orlando to New Smyrna Beach in the white station wagon and this would be our picnic lunch after we as a family got wet, sandy and salty all over from playing in the ocean. My mom was my dad's greatest support team while they operated a local newspaper. She gave more than a hundred percent to making sure things operated ok. She worked as late as my dad did and never complained about keeping late hours. Today mom has thrown her abilities into the causes she believes in such as the Democratic party. She also stays close to the neighbor's here and once in a great while will go out to lunch with them. I have a pot of coffee waiting for her when she awakes this morning. She can clear her thoughts and precede with her plan of the day.

Thursday is here

Looking at my Synthroid pill through a magnifying glass, I can see all the fine tiny lines in my finger. It is kind of weird like some freakish science fiction movie. This is kind of a trip down memory lane. Before I graduated High School, I collected bunches of brochures of different colleges all around the country and even Hawaii. Looking at the brochures was like being in a shoes store. I wanted to imaginably try each one on and see how I would fit inside. There was one in Tennessee that had streams and waterfalls and lots of kids my age hiking through the green woods. I just had a flash of what it is to be called a kid again. What I am remembering were things dating back some twenty something years ago. I thought mom and dad could pay my tuition and I could live in a fancy dorm room not worrying about the price of the education. Yes, I would have fit in kind of nice. Then, I looked at the brochure from Hawaii and though Cool. I could be under the palm trees, eat coconuts and play on the beaches in Hawaii. I could study the Geological effects of the volcanoes on the farms down below and eat pineapple. I could live in a simple dorm room and send souvenir's back to my parents and friends. I tossed that brochure to the side and looked at the one from Julliard School of Music. This school to me was one of higher learning and lots of honor. I felt it a privilege to attempt to even apply for the school. I stirred this idea around like mixing sugar into a glass of iced tea. However, I didn't drink from the cup of higher learning thanks to my high school music teacher. He discouraged me by saying it was tough out there and you wouldn't make it due to the competition. Somehow reality settle in and I missed my SAT date to get into one of these wonderful way out colleges. I ended up at a local Junior college called Valencia which my sister also attended. I thought I had kind of arrived back then, because the campus was so big and I could choose my classes. I also met more than a few interesting people which I loved running into at school. It made my journey enjoyable. Springing ahead to 2008, I am home and today is garbage day and the sun will be up pretty early and Star Trek starts pretty soon and I am almost through my morning cup of coffee.

Starting Wednesday

It is Wednesday, the day after the Election in North Carolina and Indiana for the Democrat Primary. I know Obama won in North Carolina, but I think Clinton won by a small margin in Indiana. However, I haven't really read any articles yet or seen the TV on the election yet. I just settle in with my warm cup of coffee and my calm thoughts which are just trickling in my brain. I know what I can gripe about today and possibly the rest of the week and the summer. The return of the 90 degree temperature. It should stimulate the It's so hot jokes although I don't know any right now. It's so hot my coffee stays hot even before the dawn. My friend Lew will have to do a lot more watering of his sunflowers if he wants them to stay healthy. I had to get a couple of buckets of water for my wilted flowers in the backyard. Their leaves were sagging from thirst so the water seem to help perk them up. Lew takes great pictures. I like the sunflower seeds budding out of the ground. However, the ant pictures remind me how unwanted the ants are about hanging around. They make lots of tunnels in the ground and you also see more of them when a lot of rain is coming. The ants are a part of the summer life. I will truly miss the cooler weather with the fresh air and the less intense sun. I like a slightly breezy day where it is fun to hang out loads of clothes on the clothes line and they dry in a couple of hours. Also the cooler weather keeps the no see ums away. The no see ums are like tiny gnats that leave big welts and kind of ruin being outdoors. Time for Star trek TV and a bit more coffee.

Tuesday is Election day for Indiana and North Carolina

This picture is the place where I buy raw gallberry honey. It is a honor paid system where you leave your money in the slot and take the honey that you paid . You don't have contact with anyone, because they don't seem to be there. I was first introduced to gallberry honey at a vegetable stand on State Road 415 in Volusia County, Florida. This vegetable stand had a lot of home grown vegetables and a few imports and reasonable honey. Later the vegetables were less home grown and more imports and the honey price got to more than what I would say is reasonable. My mom and I discovered this place in Olsteen, Florida based on the label of the honey jar. The prices were lower and no one bothered you as long as you didn't bother no one. The people at the vegetable stand use to brag on the gallberry honey stopping allergies. I have noticed a difference. I don't sneeze as much, but I cough a lot. I missed my Mash shows on tv this morning, but I guess that is the price for sleeping in. I have also notice that daylight is coming a lot sooner than I expected. I guess I have one issue to gripe about and that is the lack of funding for education. There was one movie quote I remember "No Bucks, No Buck Rogers". I find it a crying shame when you have to lay off teachers when kids need to be molded into useful adults.When the public officials lay off teachers then they loose the right to complain, when the FCAT goals are not achieved. There are some things that should not be touched and the right to a good education is one of those things. Education means opportunity to reach for something better in the job market or better in self learning or just maybe both. Yesterday was a beef stew for dinner day. Mom stated that the vegetables were grown in Mexico that we used in the beef stew. This was how we celebrated Cinco De Mayo (The fifth of May).

Monday starts a new week

Sunday, mom and I did go to the festival at the Marine Discovery Center. We went in the middle of the day when it was so hot. Mom found a parking spot along the side of the road where the festival was and we walked over to it where a band was playing in the distance. However, before we left the car, mom made sure the sun visor was in place on the windshield so the car wouldn't be so hot when we came back after our day's activities. There were about three roles of small tents set up where people were selling all sorts of crafty things. One booth was knitted bikinis another was Indian raw hide stuff. There was a couple of jewelry booths and two booths which were advertising books that the authors had wrote. There was a picture opportunity which I missed which was a scraggly curly haired young guy in baggy shorts with a press pass draped over his head and two huge cameras with extended long lenses draped over each shoulder and he was talking on a cell phone in the middle of a very hot day. There was also a short role of restaurant booths. Aunt Catfish was giving away free samples of their key lime pie which was real rich and you could taste the ego brand milk which was sweet and the graham cracker crust which was also sweet. Fortunately, the sample was small so I didn't feel so guilty about eating a small sliver of pie. However, I did have the chicken Alfredo with peas from Dolce restaurant which was only a couple of dollars. It tasted bland. It looked good and smelled good, but it tasted bland. There was no flavor. There was a Woody's Barbeque set across the small road, but they didn't seem to have any garlic toast which I loved so well from Sonny's Barbeque. Plus they only had pulled pork which I like sliced pork and some real crispy fries. This booth in the picture had the Navy band playing jazz tunes from the Glen Miller band and some Stevie Wonder from the 1970's era. The picture also has a local representative in the distance named Susan Kosmos. Mom says she is leaving office so you won't see her at any more functions. However, she was a good announcer with a few positive things to say about the Marine Discovery Center. There was a pet cat underneath the eating tent which I was eating the bland meal. I did take a short video, but I couldn't load it on the blog. The cat's name was Charley and he was a typical long haired black cat that didn't show up too well on the video. However, the owner beamed with pride when she knew I was taking a picture of her cat. She wanted to make sure the cat was looking at the camera. The cat was in a light weight cat harness with a light weight leash attached to it. She opt. to carry her pet kitty. I guess with the heat and other doggies it wasn't a bad idea. The cat was very calm and didn't act ugly at all. It was amazing to see a well behaved kitty out in public. I did also miss the picture of the South Bridge where you could see the whole South Bridge with traffic running across it. Plus the sailboats and other boats running underneath the bridge. It was just too hot and I felt like it was a full day; even though, I didn't spend a full day at the Riverside Festival. I do believe I got the value of the dollar listening to the Navy band. They were really pretty good. I saw an old guy stagger up and try to dance. I could also see two cold beers on the table behind him. Also, when the band played a patriotic song the old guy and another old guy stood up and had their hands on their hearts like they were saying the pledge of allegiance, so I figured they were veterans of past wars. Mom and I got to talk with the guys at the Coast Guard display about their search and rescue boat. It was kind of cool looking and they were real proud of it. They let the visitors climb the ladder and look inside. When mom and I went back to the car which was warm, but not too hot, Mom backed out carefully. We were accident free and I came home tired a bit cranky, because I had a line of clothes to be taken down. It was getting late and I was the one to take the clothes down. After I came in mom made a nice chicken salad sandwich and a small salad which was dinner and the end of the Sunday adventure.

Sunday before Monday

It is early Sunday before the sun comes up and I am here with a cup of coffee and a deep dark blood red rose sitting on the kitchen table along with a small plate of five tomatoes. I have a picture here with a small maybe mini pincher dog on a walkway. It is better when you can increase the size, because more details of the dog come out. Is rain coming today? If so then, it might change our plans of going to the festival at Marine Discovery Center here. I sure enjoyed Rebeca last night on Turner Classic Movies. Some of the older movies had very good acting and very good plots. Jumping subjects in our back yard mom and I have a Cowboy and Indian situation with the squirrels. Mom and I are the Cowboys and the squirrels are the Indians. We just can't seem to get rid of the squirrels and they have free access to everything in the yard. They jump from tree to tree and run along the fence line. Scamper on top of our bird house and eat out of the bird feeder. I just wish they would go play in someone else's yard and leave ours alone in peace.

Saturday at home

I finished a telephone conversation with my sister who was heading off to work at a horse farm vet school connected with the University of Florida. She was saying that she had to get ready 48 scoops of feed for the young foals. She was also thinking about getting an inside job; instead of, keeping the one she presently has now. The one minus point about this move is that she would have less stories to tell. If she place her horse stories onto her blog, I am sure it would be quite interesting and full of adventure. Meantime, the movie I saw yesterday "Made of Honor" was a good little romance story. Guy gets girl and looses girl to another guy but gets her back at the end of the story. This picture is the underside of the bridge that I travel over and many fishermen fish off the pier. The bush in the picture is an Oleander. It blossoms, but no one pays attention to it. My agenda for the weekend is after taking my required medicines just going with what feels good. I am sure laundry will get done and dishes will get washed. Mom has the farmer's market to attend. She likes getting the fresh vegetables which we eat during the week. I have more wild ideas like we should have more Desalination plants along the coast and not just in Tampa powered by Solar energy. These are plants that convert salt water to fresh water. This would help ease any drought or dry spell that would come and help keep a healthier level in Florida's aquifer. When I heard the story on the news awhile back about the California company that wanted to come to Florida and bottle our water and take it back to California, I couldn't believe the boldness which they were claiming their rights. They weren't looking out for their neighbors, but just trying to make a profit. I was glad when the local town told them No. Floridians will stand their ground and claim what is rightfully their property which is the aquifer. Out of 50 states in the Union, California has to pick on Florida for water. They couldn't have gone to Tennessee or a state more North. I know California hurts for water with out of control Forrest fires, but the answer lies in another direction and not with Florida.

Friday start to the weekend

Our phone is fixed. It went out yesterday and I was going through computer withdraw last night. The phone guy came around ten and found a cable loose down the road and fixed it so I can write again and mom can see all the e-mails that come in. Today also our neighbor across the street is having a garage sale and lots of cars have stopped by. I plan to go to the movies and see Made of Honor. I hear lots of birds singing in everyone else's yard and not ours. This day is starting out pretty good.

Way out ideas

Today is Thursday also known as garbage and recycling day. It is also a day to water the yard since the weatherman says a lot of dry weather into the month of May. It is also the first day of May and mother's day will be coming soon. I have a fresh pot of coffee perking so I should be more opinionated soon. It took a bit longer than expected, but I got my coffee and the day is starting out good. I was looking over the meaning of magnets last night. I have new inventive ideas that I know will never be placed into practice. I was thinking in the lines of a new space vehicle that the shuttle was about to be replaced by. I was thinking in the lines of earth's gravity and how it pulls everything in. The kind of concept that magnets have when they attract each other. There is also if I remember right like magnets that repel each other. If the scientist could control this action and build a engine that would propel a vehicle based on this concept, the idea of longer space travel would be possible. I believe that space travel should be commercialized, but in a controlled fashion. The Russians had the right idea, because it boosted money back into their space program. Our country and others have the ways, means and resources to explore and take these ideas to the limit. Magnetic engines that could take you to other planets or pull something closer in that needs looking at. Our country is looking at ways of recycling water. We had tried an experimental artificial compound where vegetables were grown and groups of people lived together. This could be done on the moon and maybe even Mars if it isn't too dangerous. Safety should also be maintained as a priority. I know accidents do happen, but success comes when people take the time to do things right and not make risky short cuts just to meet a goal.