It is probably wet outside

I hear the crickets singing loudly this morning. A big old thunderstorm came through last night. I don't know how much rain it left, but I am sure it probably is wet outside. I am inside safely tucked away with my warm cup of coffee which I might need a refill soon.

I chose this photograph of Leon and his wife Anelda at my mom's former boss Harlen's retirement party. Leon and his wife were so well mannered there. They seemed to fit in to the crowd quite nicely.

Hopefully mom gets her car back today after being in the shop. She had some rust spots removed and her roof of the car painted. I hope the job is a good one and she will be pleased with the results. The weather has been hot and sultry. Plus strong storms come late in the afternoon. Today is also the last day of June.

Hello last Sunday of June

Life seems so pleasant with a cup of coffee at 4:15 in the morning and the night crickets singing in the background. They have a lot to sing about, because it is still night and it is also wet. These two ingredients the crickets love. I loaded a beach video on to You tube and it took over an hour to secure its place along with my other videos. I was glad to get it on there so I could just send the link. The video was too large to send as an attachment. This was the right way to go, so everyone I sent the link to can enjoy it. One person I sent the link twice,but this wasn't on purpose. I just forgot I already sent her the link. I loved the fact I didn't have to go anyplace yesterday. I did a little yard work in the morning removing palm edges from a small palm tree located in our front yard. What I uncovered besides little bugs that looked like termites was an off white almost round ball which I think was the heart of the palm tree plant. I had never seen this before and I decided just to stop and let nature cover back up what I had uncovered. I heard this palm edge removal would stimulate growth in the tree. However, time will be the true test to see if it worked.

Saturday and I hear crickets

I got chased off by thunder and lightening yesterday while trying to do a little yard work. The storms held off until late in the evening. I did make a trip to the movies and saw Wall-E. I thought it was a cute movie. The little robot was so adorable with his puppy dog eyes. I also liked him collecting nostalgia things.

Speaking of old stuff, I was looking at some pictures where they showed an old station wagon we use to own. I looked at the picture and it looked like the station wagon was jumping out at me. Time didn't seem so long in the picture. I know it was many, many years ago. However, I connect with it like it was something recent. Have you ever connected with your past that you remember ever detail, but try to find something recent like your keys is like Mission Impossible?

There is a radio station I connect with when I am driving. It is Sunny 105.9. It plays all the fun songs I like to hear and am use to singing. I heard the song "Good Love" the other day and I was just rocking in the truck with the music up loud and the air conditioning blasting. The trip home from the store seemed way to quick.

It's new movie day

The weird stuff I made which was placed into two plastic containers finally got emptied and fed to the sea gulls and pigeons. They reluctantly ate it. They knew it wasn't the gourmet stuff they had been getting before; however, they did not turn it down. They waste no food.

The turtle left his lettuce leaves on the outside of his hole. I don't really know what the turtle eats and no I have not captured the turtle on film yet.

Yesterday, I had a tall cold Miller beer in a tall cold Gator plastic drinking cup that had been kept in the freezer. It made the beer taste like it had just been open. The beer did not have the warm soapy taste that I have tasted before.

shower cap trick

This is a trick my sister told my mom about where you can take a shower cap and unscrew any lid like a peanut butter jar lid without any problem. The cap creates a suction which helps loosen the lid. I also placed lettuce leaves next door and this turtle crawls back into his hole to escape the human monster which is me. He had hissed at me earlier in the week. Our grass is growing pretty good. We may not get it cut for another week, because we are on a two week schedule. I hope to see the movie Wally-ee tomorrow. It looks like Short Circuit and very cute.

Forming an opinion

I finally have my coffee filled to the rim with Maxwell House. This was the one thing I missed during my short hospital stay was a cup of hot brewing coffee. I poked my head out towards the nurses station and they did not even have a pot of hot coffee. I wonder if the astronauts drink coffee in space. I know they use to drink Tang,because it was advertised as the astronaut's drink. If the astronauts do drink coffee, I wonder which brand they use Folgers or Maxwell House? Also, is it instant coffee or have they come up with a way to brew it? Does the food and coffee taste the same in space as it does on earth or has the taste buds been altered?

Changing the subject to the Death Penalty, I guess I would say that I was for it this time. The prisoner looks like a clean cut all American guy who would never do anything wrong in his whole life. However, at his trial the jury found him guilty of a monstrous crime of killing a young boy and showing him no mercy. Also, the prisoner assaulted the boy in a unspeakable manor before killing him. The prisoner shows no mercy towards his victim, but he begs for mercy before his own execution. The lawyer is afraid the prison guards will botch up the execution like the guy who was executed before this prisoner. Luckily this frame of thinking hasn't worked so far with the appeals judges. Once the execution is carried out, the parents of the victim can finally find peace knowing their son's killer will never harm anyone again.

Save a community and a job Read a newspaper

I like people to have ideas. My friend Lillian was mentioning her idea of having a newspaper you could view on a wrist watch. It would be like something you would see out of a "Get Smart" episode. She sees the practicality of having a hands free viewing so you could read it in the bathroom. I say this is a very clever idea, but making it happen may be a whole other issue.

Speaking of issues. The Daytona News Journal is closing the local branch here in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The reason being is a Consultant thought it would look more attractive to a potential buyer not to have the extra garbage or employees attached to the sale. After the reason is given but not exactly in those word, the newspaper leaders have the nerve to say they are looking after the interest of the readers. My question is how could an outsider "The Consultant" speak for the interest of the readers?

They are just trying to make surface material look more interesting to a buyer. Who will be the New Smyrna Beach ace reporters? Who will be the one to cover the stories about what local events are taking place? Who will take the pictures of the local leaders of the community? Who will jump in when there is a problem within the community and bring it to an awareness of the people ? Who will read the newspaper? These are questions that are in total disregard as far as this newspaper owner is concern.

The picture is of my Great Grandfather Jack Geyer on my mother's side of the family in Logansport, Indiana. He ran a restaurant and above was a boarding house. It was located by the Pennsylvania Railroad Station downtown. My mom said he fed the homeless there.

Hello its Tuesday

Drinking coffee makes me feel like all is right with the world. No one has any problems and with each sip I am riding in the clouds on the way to heaven. Speaking of heaven, I hope they have a delicious cup of coffee there. I remember coming over to the beach on our vacations a while back and my dad would take his cup of coffee to the beach to watch the sunrise. He would walk out with a pair of shorts that went to the knee caps and a comfortable shirt and his coffee in hand with no shoes on his feet. It was a short distance between our vacation house and the beach. I never went with him. This was time he got to spend by himself. If mom and I go to the Easter Sunrise Services, I would think of my dad with his cup of coffee watching the sunrise on the beach. Mom got her car into the body shop yesterday, to remove the rust spots and paint over the area. I followed her there and we went to The Little Drug Store afterwards where she bought me lunch. I had a Swiss Mushroom Burger with lettuce, onion and tomato on it. She also had the same burger. I was the one who got the fries and she got the bag of chips. She ate a few of my fries and we took the bag of chips home with us. I love The Little Drug Store because it has such novelty items to look at. They have everything from farmy stuff, horsey stuff, golfy stuff and coke collector's items. They have three dimensional cards which they charge six bucks. The counter which was a booth was connected to a soda fountain counter where the lunch employees are extremely busy getting lunch orders and cooking lunches for their customers. They tend to have lots of customers. The place is rarely light around lunch time. One cook did ask me how I was doing. I told him OK!! He said "good". He did not know me by name, but he recognized me by my past request for a roast beef sandwich. He made it so good.

After lunch, we briefly got chased off by stormy skies. Mom had stopped at the Pink Door. This is a resale shop operated by Pink Ladies from the local hospital. The sale of the items in the shop go towards the local hospital. There are so many old and unique things in there it is hard to pull away. However, when I saw the dark clouds and heard the first thunder. I locked up the car and walked in and retrieved mom so we could go home. When we got home the storm seemed to just go away.

Later it was a trip to Publix for me with a grocery list and a small amount of money to pay for the items. Publix is another land of temptation. The first thing to capture my eye was a five to six dollar display of exotic cheeses. They were wrapped in small packages with fancy titles and coloration of foreign flags. They even said they put garlic into one of the cheeses. I was amazed on the prices for such items. I asked myself " Are they really that fancy for the price?" Where are the two to three dollar cheeses? I was going for the Publix version of Cream Cheese located on the other side of the store. The fancy cheese was located across from the exotic wine which I recognized had inflated in price, since the last time I was there.

I got the stuff on the list plus a few extra items not on the list. I got chips, sugarless tapioca pudding and a couple of other small things. I was glad to check out and come home without the store. Mom made a fancy sandwich of smoke salmon for dinner. I watched TV and eventually retired for the night. Now it is back to drinking coffee and starting the routine again.

Today is Garbage Monday

I have been so trained to the coffee in the morning. This is the first word in my brain, until I am tasting my first sip of hot delicious coffee oozes down my throat. This morning it is Maxwell house that is the coffee made; and if, I need a second cup I will get one. My sister doesn't get up early on Mondays, because she doesn't have to go to work. She only works on the weekends. I have not poked my head outside to see what it is like. I did do this last night while carrying trash out and saw it was cloudy and overcast. The stars were not out and there was no moon. It was a good television night for me, because I was watching the Discovery Channel and was reintroduce to the space program. They replayed the Apollo 13 problems on how their ship was damaged and they were not able to land on the moon. They conserved on electricity so the astronauts would have a better chance of getting home. They briefly mentioned Apollo 17 was the last one to go to the moon and land on the moon. The astronauts were aware that when they left the moon they were not coming back. It kind of makes me think of when the shuttle program ends how empty this will be until they show off their new replacement.

The show also talked about The Challenger and the crew. They mainly focused in on Christa McCauliffe being the first teacher in space. The training she received with her backup Barbara Morgan and how the competition was still their up to the time of launch between Christa and Barbara. They captured Barbara making a statement in jest " I tried to get Christa to eat poison cookies, but she wouldn't take them." Barbara had a drive of wanting to be first. I know she liked Christa, but she would have rather been in Christa's place on the shuttle. This was before it blew apart on launch day. It was also this drive that kept her in the astronaut program after the explosion until she got her place on the shuttle as The first Educator in Space. She was much older and her hairstyle had changed, but she was more than willing to do the task NASA wanted her to perform. I was sorry when she went she didn't get more television time and attention. The program she had to set up and teach kids was only shown to a select few. I would have like to see how she would have taught the kids and what she would have said to the kids. Also, when she came back from space, she was the only one who got air sick. She wasn't as healthy as we thought she was.

They also didn't talk about John Glenn going up on the shuttle as a Senior Citizen. All the medical test he had to perform just to ride on the shuttle. Plus, Bill Nelson U. S, Senator what he must have felt and how he viewed the space program after his flight. Also, they had a Saudi Prince ride on the shuttle. Plus, African American men and women, Asians and Russians. People of different origins, but with lots of training and most of them PH D's. They had medical doctors and conducted all sorts of test on humans as well as rodents and plants.

The shuttle had been the work horse for carrying sections of the International Space Station. They have also exchanged crew from the space station to the shuttle and taken some crew back home. One shuttle that didn't make it home was The Columbia. It broke up over Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Seven more lives were lost and the families were left empty waiting on the Florida return pad for the crew to come home. They talked about how the crew was traveling on a doomed flight after learning a piece of falling foam had cause damage to the wing by puncturing a hole into it. This wasn't put together until after the tragedy.

As you can see, I sort of got into this show. It kept going on and on, so there were parts I missed. I also switched channels briefly between the Sarah Brightman concert on PBS and this show. Sarah is such a Diva. The special effects are simply outstanding. I also loved the red velvet dress she starts the show off in. I still haven't progressed far in my book. I just quit when they were either going down or up on a mountain. I forget which one.

Did you get rain? I sure did!!

It is so nice being back into a rainy pattern. The middle of the day rains are so good for the yards. I expect the brown spots in our yard and the neighbor's yards to go away. It started raining around Matlock time and I just slept through most of it. I saw it steadily coming down and I just settled back into my sleep mode on the couch just like Sleeping Beauty. I got my beauty rest.

When the evening came and the rain slacked off. I could see a light trying to shine through the bathroom window. I figured it to be the moonlight. I didn't go outside to see what size the moon was, but it did produce a pretty radiant beam through the bathroom window and the window in my bedroom. This morning I could hear the night crickets softly singing like one big massive choir of chirping. I have finished off one cup of Maxwell House. I was thinking how much fun it is to connect with people through the cell phone which I haven't seen for a long time. My former doctor, who only goes to the golf course twice a week. He is affected by the warm humid weather. He also says" to give my regards to your mom" which I convey the message. He is a part of my past which I like holding on to as long as possible. I also talk with former neighbors and connect with what their children and grandchildren are doing with their lives. This is all done through the power of the cell phone and having more minutes on nights and weekends to use over a period of a month. I will be talking with my sister pretty soon. She reminded me yesterday how frogs can cry in agony when they aren't really being hurt. She encountered this and we both had a good laugh.

It''s Grocery Shopping Day!!!

Mom has picked Saturday as Grocery shopping day or Farmer's Market Day. This is the day when people go out to compare prices on vegetables and fruits and try to get the best deals. Growers at the Farmer's Market grow their vegetables locally and sell it for a slightly cheaper price than what you would find at the stores. However, they don't refrigerate their vegetables like what you would see at Winn Dixie or Publix. I love the display of a pretend rain shower with flickering lights for lighting and recorded thunder. Afterwards, "Singing in the Rain" music comes on with sounds of recorded rain with a slight spraying of water on the vegetable display at the store. It is like all this entertainment suppose to keep the vegetables crisper longer. I had one mug of Maxwell house coffee and that doesn't seem to be enough. I am not getting the caffeine kick which I get with the Folgers coffee. Last night we had a small thunder storm roll through. I have two library books one is "From Whom The Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway. The other is the famous Nixon book I didn't even get to the third chapter. I have three weeks with these two books, so hopefully I will make some headway with them; especially if, we get a rainy afternoon. Speaking of stories the only rainy story fragment, I can remember is horseback riding during a thunderstorm and cutting through orange groves over by a lake. My eyes were stinging from the rain and I could hear the thunder and maybe even seeing some lighting ever so close. I remember wanting to be out of this situation so bad. I was glad when it was over. I guess the other stories would be driving through flooded streets and hoping I could get through the water without my car stalling out and my brakes giving out. Also, pulling into convenient stores when the weather was threatening with tornadoes and lots of lighting with heavy downpours of rain. I guess I will try for a little more coffee.

Rejoice ye coffee lovers It's Friday!!!

First, I wanted to start out with a funny story. My mom was telling me the reason our next door neighbor seeing the Police checking out the other neighbor's yard is the neighbor three houses down from us accidentally called 911 while cleaning the keys of her phone. I thought this to be a comedy situation like what you would see on Home Improvement. There was no harmful intent, but just a clear honest mistake. Now, I want to jump on my soapbox about the subject of feeding the Pelicans. I think the law makers have gone too far in presuming this to be a threat to the Pelicans. The Pelicans can still survive in the wild ; even if, you or I feed them. This is not like feeding an alligator. The Pelican is a moocher and loves to get fish where ever he is able. He hangs around fishermen thinking someone will give him a handout. The pelican will jump in the water to do his own fishing if no one feeds him and his supply runs dry. My question to the law makers is where are they when the Pelican gets a hook stuck in it's beak or neck? There is no one to maintain the well being of these birds. I can hear the night crickets from the kitchen. This sound dominates until sunrise.

Mowing the lawn

Along with garbage pickup day, Thursdays is also lawnmowers day. The two guys which take care of our lawn as well as the lawn next door are two of the most efficient guys you would ever meet. They have a set price for services. They faithful pull out their John Deere tractor with a canopy and the edger and go to work without fail. The only thing I think is remaining is for someone to blow off the grass in the driveway with their blower. They charge 30 dollars, but we only require their services every two weeks. It saves us the labor in the hot sun and the four dollar gas prices. Here comes the blower and what an efficient job he does every time he comes. The mower guy I nicknamed Chicken eating Charles, because his real name is Charles and he loves eating chicken. He has an agreement with one of the restaurants over on US I where he will mow their grass for free in exchange for a free chicken meal. His sidekick I don't know his name, but he has a tattoo that looks like it belongs in a biker bar. While Charles was working on our yard, another lawn service vehicle parked and unloaded their mower and edger. The mower was a yellow stand up type. It looked like an oversize Sedge way or a redneck version of a oversize Sedge way. The edger guy was shirtless with a white shirt tied around his neck like a white scarf. His skin tan was a brownish blistering red color. and they finished around the same time Charles did. It makes for an exciting morning, because I needed to be dressed and not stay in my night gown until after lunch. Sometimes the mower people come and park cross the street right in front of our driveway. It takes careful backing of the car to get around this road hog. This is an older picture of my house before the light pole was painted red. I think it really looks better painted red. Maybe we are just getting use to it.

What is pretty and What is not?

Hark, what do I see?
It looks like an offshore oil rig drifting
right towards me.
I thought it was safe and secure.
Didn’t you know that was just a fishing lure?

You took the bait and now it just ate your Coast.
You thought you were going to gain lower gas prices but you ended up loosing the most.
It muddy up the shoreline with dark oozing oil
It killed the fish and injured the birds. Now who is going to be loyal?

Loyal to the cleanup today of restoring our Coast. Making sure we have the right to boast.
We have the best beaches and we make great host. We learned from our mistakes. It is the clean environment we need the most.

Garbage pickup is today

Sadly, I have gone through my small container of Folgers Coffee. If we don't get more, than it is back to Maxwell house without the Folgers jump start I would get in the morning. Somehow I don't think Maxwell house has as high a caffeine amount as Folgers. The past couple of days New Smyrna Beach has been blessed with rain storms and lots of water. Today and tomorrow is suppose to be a drying out days so there would be only a small chance of rain. The weatherman says the rain would return by Saturday and Sunday. The water has been so disparately needed for the brown spots forming on every ones lawn including mine.

Yesterday, mom and I ate at this diner type restaurant called Ruthy's. The customers were few and the special was a Yankee Pot Roast. It came with a drink and pudding for 5 I forget the change part, but it seemed pretty close to 6 dollars. This seemed like good quality mom and daughter time in the middle of the hot afternoon. It had been my intention to go grocery shopping with mom after lunch. I didn't expect such a big lunch. I figured maybe some fried chicken or I saw on the menu a chicken sandwich with some fries. However, this was a better financial deal and it was a healthier menu. I could not turn it down. When the waitress came out with the meal, I was surprised at how much juice was in the pot roast. It was also cooked different than what my mom makes at home. Mom browns the meat by frying it. They did not do this step. Instead, the meat looked like it was boiled and the carrot slices were huge and the potatoes were small. We got cold dinner rolls to go with the meal and small packets of butter to go on the rolls or place on the small potatoes.

During the meal, mom and I heard the first thunder clap of the day. This thunder sounded close signaling the start of the first storm of the day. Mom went to the car and rolled up the windows as I stayed in and casually ate my king size meal. After finishing my meal, I ordered two chocolate puddings from the waitress. Plus, I asked her to get a to go box for all the meat mom didn't eat. The chocolate puddings tasted good, but we both could tell it was an instant mix. There was no cooking involved in making the puddings.

When we left Ruthy's, the worst of the storm was already out to sea. Mom and I tried to stop by the Flagler entrance to their ocean park to take a look at the ocean. However, we could not find a parking spot. It was crowded with people out swimming in the water. I thought how brave they were to defy the lighting and thunder looming near by in the ocean. These must be tourist and out of school kids who would risk life and limb just to get in a swim from New Smyrna Beach. I remembered how it use to be growing up as a kid at the beach. The lifeguards would be frantically blowing their whistles signaling everyone to come in and be safe. It was taboo to swim when you had the possibility of being hit by lighting.

Mom and I went home and were so hot. I was so glad to step inside the house which was air conditioned. I had to change my shirt, because it was soaked through with sweat. I drank several ice cold beverages. One was juice and the other was ice water to cool my insides down. I felt more normal after watching some TV. I didn't venture out the rest of the day.

The use of water seems to play a big role in our environment today. I know I need a lot of it everyday. Water is used for flushing toilets, baths, washing hands and brushing teeth. It is also used for washing dishes and washing clothes. I also count on it to help make my morning coffee. This is just me one person. If you times this one person by many, than lots of water is being used. Also, not to mention watering of lawns both commercial and private. Somethings are a big mystery to me, like how do they measure the amount of water which is in the aquifer? How do they know that watering your yard only twice a week for 45 minutes would be enough to keep it green?

Speaking about other water issues, I was watching TV in regards to the subject of Offshore Oil Drilling. This is an issue with many sides. I can not give the oil companies free liberal access to Florida's Coastline. I know our current President supports free oil company access, but his brother opposed it. Somehow seeing the Coastline littered with oil rigs doesn't sound too inviting. Plus, the TV reminded me about the oil spill in Alaska which seemed to take forever to clean up.

I wouldn't want something similar happening off of our Coastline.

I believe it is the middle of the week

Mom took me to see the beach in the park area of 27th. street. It was around three in the afternoon when we pulled into a parking space close to the grassy area where it is a short distance to the ocean. We chose this location, because the storms were churning at the North end of the beach, We had time to see the light white clouds with traces of blue fade off into the Southern distance. Glancing to the North, I could see a solid dark grayish blue with an occasional ground lighting strike. The lighting strike was a flashy yellow color and very straight and thin. I seem to hear more thunder than to see lighting strikes. There was a sailboat out on the water with the sails down heading straight for the darkness of the storm. There was a surfer paddling South away from the storm making really good time. I could tell this was a surfer when he was closer to me. At first, I thought this could have been a pelican on the water. However, this bird was way to active and seemed to draw closer. Talking it over with my mom, we decided this was a surfer. We did not understand why he was going through so much trouble to dog paddle so far South. It seemed to me a whole lot easier if he was trying to escape the storm just to come into shore and wait it out. The storm finally was starting to dissolve as we were leaving. I did capture the picture of the skateboarder. He didn't seem to appreciate me taking his picture, but he didn't say anything. Mom and I sat under a covered park bench with a table. The park attendant was a women stating she was disappointed on the way the public kept their park clean. She was changing out garbage bags and picking up lots of garbage in the grassy area. She made it seem like she was taking care of a bunch of pigs. Later she was talking with someone else, but she kind of glared our direction with an eye of distrust. I had an uneasy feeling and it add to the reason for leaving. In observation, I find people at the beach pretty much do their own thing, but not so friendly trusting towards others. I like being an observer of other people. I remember going to Disney and finding it more fun just to watch the tourist and the way they acted. I also use to do this when I went to the mall. I was a people watcher. I figured everybody had some little story to tell, by their actions and the way they dressed and me listening to what the subject of their conversation. I had a cup of coffee and it has been a real pickup this morning. I heard the report on the news about the study of coffee improving your health. Mom loves the idea and I can easily buy into it. I had some missed video chances getting the turtle crawling at record speed back to his hole. He overshot his mark, but easily turned around. Using his claws, he swept a couple scoops of dirt back and then disappeared into his hole. He knows this hole is his home. It is his protection away from the storms. Mom said she place some lettuce out by the hole and check later to discover it gone. I also have trouble taking pictures of pelicans. They seem to fly over to fast and I can't get my camera focused in time to get a good shot. I seem to see more with the human eye than I can capture on film.

No Garbage pickup on Tuesday

I stepped outside this morning and the ground was still wet after it rained yesterday. The sound of the night crickets and the dripping water on the bag of mulch under the tree was overwhelming to hear. Mom had told me last night about a big full moon. I was too tired to investigate and I really did not want to be bug bitten before going to bed. This morning I went outside and saw a smaller more compact moon. It still had a pretty glow and I could tell the crickets just loved it. I brought the Daytona News Journal in the house, but I didn't even take it out of the bag. I did some experimental cooking yesterday which turned out to be totally weird tasting. The end product almost tasted like a cross between corn meal patties and a soap bar. I mixed some pineapple and a bit of honey in the sugar substitute ingredients and it didn't do any good to improve the product. Mom's facial expression of "yuk" meant the end of her trying it again when I said it tasted better with some honey on it. She called it chicken food and I chimed in maybe the seagulls would like it. The flour was a glutton free product. I was just curious to see how it would turn out. Yesterday, we finally got the much need rain which steadily flowed on the grass. The yards including ours have been turning brown due to the lack of water. I hope we get more today and it soaks more into the brown spots of the yards. Television seemed unmemorable and I did get my daily naps. If it is suuny in the morning, I might try to hang out clothes. If it is cool enough, maybe I would do some tree trimming. It depends on the mood of the weather and how I feel.

Is is Monday?

I guess it is Monday according to my computer which also says it is June 16, 2008 which is officially Lillian's birthday. What a thrill it is to soak in the hot coffee. The Folgers coffee just soaks through the skin. I can taste the caffeine saying Hello to my insides. Yesterday, we didn't get much in the rain department. It was hot, humid and mostly overcast. Today, the weatherman says we have a better change at getting the rain. Last night, I had purchased a paper from the local CVS store down the road. I had a young cashier check me out. I took the paper home and discovered the TV guide had been torn up. I took the paper back to CVS where an older lady tried to check me out. I told her I was bringing back the newspaper, because the middle was torn up. She accused me of reading the paper and she was not going to take a paper back that I read. I told her " I just bought the paper." She still tried to get me to exchange the purchase for something else. This was the last paper on the shelf for Sunday. I just wanted my money back. Fortunately, the cashier which originally sold me the paper stepped in to verify, I had just purchased the paper. The older cashier had no choice but to give me my money back. After we kind of joked about the TV guide being torn, I took the money and went home. I was puzzled on the inside to why someone would accuse me of reading the paper and then try to return it. I even had my sales slip which should have told them when I purchased the paper. The older cashier didn't even look at the slip. Mom said that I should have hollered for the Manager. She is right, but I didn't want to take the time. I just wanted to go home with the money.

Sunday starts now

What if the weather was not so nice at the beach. There would be wind kicking up. The trees would blow the dead debris off the branches and onto the ground. The ground would be saturated with water from the pounding rain. Lightening would be striking everywhere and no one would be on the beach or in the water. The wind would be howling and the tornado threat would be scary as I hunkered by the weather radio. Tornado warning issued and whirling motion spotted on Doppler radar around the beach. This is a dangerous situation which I don't have to worry about at the present time, because all we have here is heat and sun. Yesterday, I saw a girl in a bikini heading down to the beach with her beach towel. I was in my air conditioning car going to pick up someone who just had her hair done at the beauty shop.

What if Tim Russert, the journalist, never passed away from a heart attack. The weekend would be just another ordinary weekend filled with stories of the War in Iraq and the Political Scene between The Republican Candidate and The Democratic Candidate. Tim would host his show "Meet The Press" and no one would know anything was different. The tornado story which involved Boy Souts and the floods in the Mid-West would have faded away in the background. Even the shuttle landing would be small potato news.

However, Tim did die from the heart attack and focus was placed on dedication to his career and why he died at such a young age. Also,what a good father Tim was to his son who just graduated from college. Tim paid for a trip the family took to Italy as a graduation present to his son. The other press people talked about how Tim would attend the baseball games his son was play in. This kind of bonding netted the press family closer together.

What if gas prices started going down instead of going up. Gas companies were competing for your business by having lowering price wars. How nice it would be never to see four dollars a gallon or five dollars a gallon. The price range would be two dollars a gallon or one something a gallon. What traveling we would do. Trips to visit relatives who live two hours away. Having enough fuel in case a hurricane came. Having enough fuel to easily glide into Orlando and back,if I had to do it on a regular basis. Plus just having enough gas to go to the movies if I wanted to see a picture show.

The what ifs could be endless to the number of changes I would like to see happen. This was written without the coffee this morning. I got up early when Lillian my friend was just going to bed. We shall see what lies ahead for the day and the week. Hot and sunny for the day and Hot and muggy for the evening with a gorgeous sunset. What if has been replaced by What is happening today.

Here comes Saturday

This is such a nice picture of the Osteen bridge taken from the inside of my truck while driving over the bridge. It shows the field of yellow flowers which only come a certain time of year. I haven't traveled over the Osteen bridge in quite a while. Somehow this seems a world away. My little world seems to revolve around New Smyrna Beach and the latest going happenings. Mom goes to the farmer's market this morning to buy the latest and best vegetables she can find. Hopefully saving a little bit of money by not paying the store prices. The condo down the road has turned a bit more fancy with a curly silver thing attached to the outside of the building. My neighbor seems to thing it will be lit up at night. She says" we will really be able to find where we live, because of it being lit at night." There is no Star Trek or Night Court on today. The Westerns like Gunsmoke and Bonaza will be on in its place.

Sunny Friday

This is a good morning for a hot cup of coffee. I poured some Greenwise Organic Reduced Fat milk in it and it does not taste like TGLEE. I like milk to have a full body taste. I remember my family use to get Cumberland milk and it was pretty good. TGLEE milk is at CVS which is pretty close to where I live. The only downside is the price of milk seems to be going up. This is a sunset picture of the beach. I like how the warmth feel of the coffee trickles down my throat. I also can not believe the way the landscape of the beach has changed with the sand re nourishment project. It now seems like the land is flatter and further out than before. It is also hard from the walkway enclosure to tell where the small drop off hill is located. I wonder if that will eventually get smoothed out. It was so hot and humid yesterday that it felt better to be indoors with the air conditioning running. I hope at least we do get a sea breeze. I can enjoy the day much better if there is a breeze blowing.

Glad to be home on Thursday

Today is Thursday when the garbage gets picked up. Plus the recyclables get picked up. I don't know if we will get any rain today. According to the weatherman, it doesn't look to promising. The maps look as though the rain will stay mostly to the center of the state. My betting for the horse race wasn't too good this year. I bet on the one that finished last. I also bet the time before on the horse that broke his legs and was eventually destroyed. This is a picture of my mom and my sister on the beach. It was towards the evening and the sunlight was catching them at the right angle. I like the air conditioning inside my house. It feels good and encourages me to go back to sleep. I hope there is good television on today. I look forward to seeing some.

Berry made it through the operation

Berry made it through the operation and no Cancer was found. The spleen was straitened out and she is in recovery. Yesterday, mom and I went to see Suzanne Kosmos who declared herself running for U. S. Congress of the twenty-fourth district. She is an ambitious lady who has netted a small fortune in selling property. I hope she does well against her opponent Tom Feeney. She has worthy goals, because it is geared towards the improvement of the economy for us on the coast. Her Campaign promises are what the general public wants to hear. I hope she makes good on her promises once she is elected. I hate to be the forgotten public who only gets courted around election time. In the picture, I am holding up a shoe. This was part of my birthday present. The weather was pretty warm yesterday. There was a small breeze off the water walking back to my car after the Suzanne Kosmos rally. I barely saw anything move on the water. Later , there was some rain here at the beach. However, the real storm was in Osceola County. This is around Disney and the Kisimmee area, The weathermen had issued a tornado warning. I don't know if one touched down, but the pictures looked like a threatening storm approaching. The daylight is here and the birds are singing. The heat starts all over again and we shall see about the storms this afternoon.

Tuesday is cool indoors

I opened up a fresh new canister of Maxwell House coffee thinking it was the older canister of Folgers inside the Maxwell House canister. I wonder why Folgers has a red canister with no grooves and Maxwell House has a blue canister with a handle like grip? Maxwell house seems to be a milder flavored coffee with not enough bite as Folgers. It is like telling the difference between Pepsi and Coke. I got a half a mug more to get the extra zip I think I need to circulate this morning. I know two places I may be going this morning. One is the bank and the other is to see a Candidate named Susan Kosmos. I don't know why I received this invite; except for, she needs the votes. We didn't hear anything about Berry the dog who was operated on yesterday. It has me concern if she made it or not. I told the owner to place her in God's hands which is the right thing to say. However, it is sometimes easier to say than do. I find I worry like a mother hen until I know the outcome. Berry was the same way with her owner Howard. She would worry just like a human facial expressions and crying until she knew Howard was ok and would not leave her. Howard's wife Eileen said that when Berry was a small puppy she would travel inside of Howard's pocket. I got part of the yard trash out into the front yard on the curb. The yard people don't pick up the yard trash until Wednesday.

Lets take a closer look at the cake

The cake was filled with a rich chocolate center with vanilla icing and colorful sprinkles on top. There is lots of leftovers to be distributed among family and friends. Glendon, my sister goes home to Williston today to check on her animals. She wants to be sure they are alright. The cake from a distance looked like a red velvet cake. However, this wasn't the case when eating it. This is also garbage day and we at least have two bags of garbage to set out front for the garbage men to pickup. I talked with my Aunt and Uncle from California last evening. My sister and mom got to talk with them too. My sister also dialed an old friend named Irene, who knew us years ago. She now lives in Kansas and is still riding horses. She remembers me as the skinny kid. I told her this isn't me now. Thirty years seems like a blink of an eye. The length of time seems to disappear when talking with someone you knew way back when. I am the first to dine on my Folgers coffee this morning. It is a nice warm cup. It helps circulate the brain currents. My friend Dick called yesterday and I thanked him for the musical card he sent to me. I felt so blessed to have a cultured friend who likes music and knows the art of dance. I felt like I probably could chat with him for hours on the subject, but I held off until maybe I could see him again some day. He lost his dog awhile back. I always hoped that he would get another one to fill his life with some animal activity. Speaking from experience, dog sitting is enough for mom and I ; however, my friend Dick has a warm caring heart that could use a lot of love from a small dog. One of the two dogs we dog sat for goes in for surgery today. Berry, I hope will come through it alright, and her owner,Howard will be relieved of the worry. Time to start in on my Lutein and Beta Carotene. Stay Cool and out of the heat everyone.

I got a cake for my birthday

Glendon made an organic chocolate cake with white frosting and little colorful sprinkles. Glendon, mom and I went to the beach this evening and found the layout of the shoreline had been changed. It looked flatter from the German Ginger house like structure and dropped off from a small hill. The sand is like sugar soft to the feet and sticks to the feet. The water was not too cool or not too hot. Cozy to touch the feet and caress the senses. I did not get a picture of a pelican which flew over close enough you could make out the finer details such as the colors of the underbelly and the texture roughness of the wings. The beach is a place to see different people and reflect on the days events. I get a sense of openness from looking out on the water. I enjoy the ocean breeze and the different birds which ride the ocean breeze currents. Glendon got to see the turtle in our neighbor's yard burrowing in the soft white sand. She though he was building his driveway. Dinner was a rump roast with baked potatoes and dark gravy with a salad and chocolate cake for dessert. Plus a blueberry cheese tart to try before dinner.

Happy Birthday 45 just like the record

The coffee just seems to hit the right spot. Nice and warm and places the invisible patch of healing over the things that went wrong yesterday. One Hillary gave up the race for the White house and gave her support to the other Candidate. Two I lost forty bucks over betting on the favorite Big Brown to win the Triple Crown at Belmont in New York. Big Brown came in last. He had been taken off of steroids, so he just didn't have the desire to run. The one situation is not related to the other situation, except it happened on the same day. I even made the Tequila sunset drink for mom and I for the race. At least the drink turned out good. Today, Howard comes to pick up the rest of the dogie stuff left in the basket. He also is going to fix a sprinkler head that I accidentally broke next to the air conditioning unit. Glendon, my sister is coming around noon to stay overnight on my birthday. Mom and I are not traveling to her place this time. Glendon is coming to the beach. She is bringing an organic cake. She is also bringing a rump roast and organic potatoes. I believe this day will be an interesting one to have.

The day before my birthday

I am up with the coffee. I had to get another piece of raisin bread, because the one I had kind of fell apart. I popped two pieces of raisin bread into the toaster and I hope it doesn't over cook it. I like toast, but not burned toast. I need to mention a cute little boxer turtle took up residence next door in a hole under a palm tree. I have seen the hole and I have seen the turtle digging in the dirt from a distance. I haven't really looked at the turtle up close. I think it is the same one which headed up in the neighbor's yard across the street. This turtle I only looked at and went home. The neighbor girl came out and said " How adorable." The talk on our street is the turtle came from down the road at the development place. It was there a bunch of turtles got killed all in the name of progress. I like this turtle next door, because it reminds me of the movie "Far and Away" where immigrants declared free land as their own. I view this turtle along the same lines. It is care free and digs the dirt like it owned the dirt with no predators. I don't even think the next door neighbor knows about it. Mom and I don't plan to tell him either. This gives the turtle the best chance to be undisturbed. I have been getting a few nice birthday cards. One e-card from my friends Mary and Lew and one e-card from my friend Lillian. One birthday phone wish from my former boss Georgia. One birthday card from my former co-worker Dick and a couple of nice birthday cards from my sister Glendon. I found out from mom that, Berry the dog, goes in for surgery on Tuesday. I got to show off the homemade videos of Holly to my neighbor Pauline. I accidentally broke a sprinkler head by stepping on it yesterday while trimming a bush back around the air conditioning unit. I also trimmed a eucalyptus tree in the back yard. I like this type of yard work, but I felt energy drained afterwards. Today is the Belmont and I didn't place a bet. I still figure that Big Brown will ace the Triple Crown. This is also the day when my buddy Hillary officially leaves the race for President. She will throw her support behind the other candidate. The day before my birthday seems pretty unique.

Friday starts the weekend

Both Holly and Berry went home with their original owners Howard and Eileen. Berry still wasn't feeling good, but Holly made up for the excitement by waging her tail and kissing her owner Howard. When mom and I went to pick up Berry at the Vet's office, the Vet told us she had a messed up spleen. Howard would have to bring her in the next day for x-rays. What happens next to Berry will be up to Howard and the Vet. Mom and I are out of the picture. This is a new day where we can turn off the air and open up the house and let it air out for awhile. We also can vacuum, mop and wash sheets, clothes and pillow cases. I also don't have to go outside before daylight and get my self bitten up by bugs. I have felt such a great sense of relief. Something heavy lifted off my shoulders. Mom made chicken noodle soup which I had for lunch and dinner. Today, I have no idea what we will eat.

Thursday is finally here

Holly is snoring this morning. She has been so cute. She is adorable to pet and take care of. However, she does go home this evening with Berry to her owner Howard. It will be somewhat a relief to know they are reunited. Mission accomplished, which means getting this place back to the days prior to when the dogs came to visit. This morning promises to be a busy morning. The lawn cutting crew is suppose to be here early this morning to cut our lawn. The lady next door usually gets it done every week, but I saw her cutting her own grass yesterday with a lawnmower. I didn't figure her for pushing a lawnmower, because she seemed to be someone who just liked things done. This will be the last day with both dogs and it will be lively. Meantime, I enjoy a nice cup of Folgers coffee and listen to Mash while I encourage Holly to stay on her chair. Mom, Holly and I enjoyed a nice steak dinner from Outback last night. We rode in the car and I got take out at the take out to purchase a 20 ounce Porter House steak dinner.When I returned home, the taste of the steak seem to melt in my mouth. I got a little bit of steak juice on my half of the baked potato. The salad had crisp ice berg lettuce with small tomatoes and slightly hot onions. I also ordered ranch dressing to place on top of the salad. It came with a small wheat dinner roll which was split between mom and I. Last night was also the Sarah Brightman concert on PBS. Sarah strolled down the aisle in this big church like setting in a flamboyant red velvet dress. She had her arms stretched out like a exotic peacock courting an audience of devoted listeners.

I went out yesterday evening to pick up a pizza. While driving in the slow lane, I notice other drivers seemed fast and impatient trying to reach their destinations. There seems to be no slow down driving due to the increase of gas prices. I am a casual driver. This is why I pretty much stay in the slow lane. I like to look at things while I drive. Reaching my destination in record time is not as vital as getting there safely. I also like to look at things like garage sales, new flowers growing, new developments and buildings being built. There is a new car wash being built which I don't think will be used that often. I am thinking many drivers would prefer to wash their own cars at home. I rarely use the one here on the beach side. It is a nice luxury, but not something I could afford often. I haven't really seen the beach, since I have been dog sitting. My focus has been on Holly and tomorrow it will also be on Berry. The lawn people are suppose to cut which will make for an interesting time. Tomorrow evening around 8, Howard the owner comes to bring his doggies home. The dogie life will be over.

Tuesday is pretty still

There was a nice little rain last night. It covered the grass which is turning brown around the edges. Mom told me this morning that the local newspaper for New Smyrna Beach is ceasing to function. The Observer is disbanding and thirteen people are out of work. I hate loosing a local paper, because it covers what happens around in the community. This is a reflection of hard economic times when a newspaper can not function in today's economy. The gas prices are at an unreal four dollars a gallon. This causes all sorts of items from food to clothing to increase in price. They have to cover transportation cost to get their items to market. The weatherman said the rain would start around 3 in the afternoon. It is pretty sunny and still. There does not seem to be a breeze blowing. The sky is blue and the sun flower is still poking it's head towards the street. Mom picked a couple of gardenia's for the kitchen vase sitting on top of the kitchen table. She also included a red hibiscus flower. The video is of Holly whom I have been writing about and taking her out for small walks. We go out into the backyard and I sit in the glider swing while she rolls on her back scratching her itch. We also go on pretend car rides. I sit her in the back seat of mom's car with the door open on my side. We sit their for a while. She thinks and eventually lays down next to me. When I feel like I have enough time in the car. I carry her out. She doesn't want to go, but she agrees. Thursday, Holly gets her buddy Berry back from the Vet. The reunion should be cool to watch. I expect there will be lots of play between the two dogs.

I'm up when you're up

Holly doesn't give me any peace in the morning. She is like a little firecracker full of energy ready to go out and great the world. She has been kind of lost soul without her buddy Berry. She latches on to me and keeps me on my toes. Yesterday, we had a pretend car trip. She loves getting into mom's back seat and sitting there like she is traveling down the road someplace. I was glad just to stay home most of the day. I did walk with Holly part way down the road. She moaned and groaned as we were walking. It turns out I wasn't very motivated either. Gone is the Springs cool weather. Replaced by warm damp air which is only loved by mosquitoes. I am now restricted to one hand typing, because Holly wants to go outside in the dark where the no see-ums eat my scalp.

Sunday June 1 starts a new month

The sun is very intense this morning. I got the well water on the third part of the cycle for the yard. The weather has been so dry, the grass is turning brown around the ends. Mom is making Sunday morning breakfast which will involve a little bit of bacon. I used an older picture of the shuttle launch, because the one I tried to record did not turn out good. The sun added a soft light to the intense fire of the rocket engines from the shuttle. The light from the shuttle seem to grow the higher the shuttle flew. The launch was like clock work. The shuttle left on time, climbing higher and separating it's solid rocket. I couldn't belief how fast the television said the shuttle was traveling. It just didn't seem real. This seemed like the ultimate roller coaster ride. My sister missed the launch, but she did hear about it later. Today is the last day she works this weekend so she can recover from her stiff muscles the rest of the week.Mom and I get into a routine of things to do the rest of the week. However, I like looking to see what people out of this world are doing.