Have a Holly day

This is a picture of " Holly" the dog, mom and I are taking care of while the owner and his wife are on a cruise. The owner" Howard" called yesterday from Key West to check up on his dog. I told him she was doing ok. I told him about the plans I had about taking mom and I to Bunnell and leaving Holly here this afternoon. He just wants to be sure she has plenty of food and water. Holly was a nice conversation piece when mom and I took Holly to the Flagler entrance to the beach. The Flagler entrance is kind of like a park overhang where dog owners can take their dogs close to the beach. The beach is forbidden to the dog or any other animal. However the park overhang is a social place for dogs and dog owners. We met a lady who said she was an 81 year old. A great grandmother but wanted to divorce her husband of twenty years. She says he was very controlling and she wasn't allowed to have any friends of her own. She seemed to have a lot of pinned up anger. I only hope she can work out her emotional issues. I took Holly out early and now she is on the floor next to me. I guess she just likes being around people.

I see blue skies

What another nice day. It was really warm around noon time, but later in the day the sun is less intense. Our next door neighbor got rid of her Spanish roof and is getting a new roof placed on her house. The last one had some major leaks and she decided it was time for a new roof. The guys hammer away and listen to the radio. Shirtless and not worried about skin cancer while they plug away for their paycheck. The weatherman says the cold weather is gone for the summer. It won't return until the fall. The warm weather is a great time for getting a new roof. It is also a great time for hanging up clothes and getting them dry. Tomorrow is the big trip. I hope to get Holly sleeping when we leave. Mom and I should be back later in the afternoon.

It is feeling like Summer

It looks like a hot day today. I got spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove. This is the second day we have "Holly" our visiting dog. She will be with us until Friday. The rain season doesn't start until June. Even " Holly" isn't so energetic in the heat. Our next door neighbor is having their roof repaired. There is lots of banging going on next door. It sounds like the 90's will be here later in the week.

Farewell to Lillian

Lillian left on the Auto Train

She isn't going to the North of Spain

She decided not to take a plane

She isn't even going to Maine

Lillian left on the Auto Train

Ask her if leaving Florida, does she care?

No, She is going to live in Delaware.

Aaron has a new bride. One who will stay by him at his side.

Through richer and poorer and thick and thin

Lillian may never be back to Florida again.

Like the clickity clack of the railroad tracks

Pending nothing new

Florida has said it's last farewell and fond goodbye to you

It is ok to be a Floridian

It's kind of cloudy and hazy looking today. I know Lillian has an early agenda concerning getting her parents and Uncle to the train station at Sanford. Their Auto Train leaves at 4pm. The station also closes at the same time. I kind of figure they may spend most of the afternoon at the station waiting for the train. Today is bacon, eggs and cheese grits. What a nice way to start off Sunday Morning. Next week little Holly stays with us as a guest. I go for a written test on Thursday in Bunnell at 1:30 in the afternoon. Next weekend is the Kentucky Derby. This is always fun to watch.

Saturday is kind of hot

It seems like the weather just keeps getting hotter and hotter. My sister, Glendon, is having a problem with a chicken hawk. It got one of the visiting roosters. Plus, it grabbed one of her egg laying hens. She needs to know what to do about chicken hawks. How do you keep it from taking your chickens? Today is also the last day before Lillian boards the auto train to leave Florida for good. Mom is going to the farmer's market this morning and maybe I will get to go to the movies. I don't know for sure. Something might come up to change my plans. I heard the weatherman say" 90's by next Wednesday." It looks like the movies is out of the picture. A neighbor needs me to take her to the beauty palor which I agreed. This is my good deed of the day.

Friday

We didn't get to see the waves tonight. Instead, I saw the inside of a Winn Dixie store. I bought a cooked chicken which was good for dinner. Mom made a salad and split the last ear of corn we had. I have gotten partial to white corn. I like the juice that comes from the kernels. As passing thoughts of Lillian and her family boarding the auto train on Sunday, Mike Diamond is another person moving North of Los Angles with his soon to be wife Cheryl. I haven't met her or seen pictures of her, but Mike said he would send his engagement pictures via e-mail which I will be waiting on. Mike plans to leave about the middle of May from what I can gather."Parting is of such sweet sorrow. Let us say goodbye today for there will be no tomorrow."

Garbage day

I did not hear any train whistle this morning. I usually like hearing the whistle early, if the train is up and running. There is a track that goes up and down the East Coast and it seems only freight trains run on the track. The new neighbors across the street place their garbage out on the curb yesterday. I opened up the front door and saw their light on outside. However, I did not see the garbage scattered all over the neighborhood. There is a friendly big raccoon which is a night feeder on garbage. This raccoon makes it almost impossible to place garbage out at night without securing the can with bicycle ties. I have seen the raccoon traveling across the street at night. The coon looks like a big cat with a large hump in the middle of it's back. The coon never seems to come out during the day. I think it fears exposure. Last nights dinner was chili so there shouldn't be any food smells coming from our trash can. Today, when the sun comes up the garbage goes out to be picked up.

Spinach casserole recipe

Have a casserole dish lined at the bottom with fried onion bits found in the grocery store where the can vegtables are sold.

Next cook up your spinach which is hopefully baby spinach and place the cooked spinach on top of the fried onion bits.

Next place on top of the spinach some cheese like American Cheddar slice. A couple of pieces. I also used some Amish cheese which could be another kind of cheese.

Next drain the juice out of a can of mushrooms and add on top of the cheese.

Next add one can of cream of mushroom soup.

Next top with rest of fried onion bits from the can.

Cover top with lid or aluminum foil and bake in the oven on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and enjoy the casserole. The onion bits should brown on top. Plus there should be a little bit of bubbling due to the cream of mushroom soup. Try it and see if you like it.

What happened to State Road 434 ?

I am starting this feature out with a story of a bug that would not give up. I don't know if this bug was a flea or what it was. I do know it embedded its black body into the skin below my right eye. I could feel the stinging like a blood sucking flea. I couldn't pull it away with my hand, so I used some cleanser hand wipe which was mostly alcohol. I was finally rid of the black varmint and the stinging was starting to go away, but it left a big welt in its place. Hopefully in time this also will disappear from my view. The things that shake up my sense of being are forever present like the six lane mess on State Road 434 in Longwood around where the high priced subdivision "The Springs" are located. The whole feel of a quiet community was ripped out by an asphalt road expansion. The awful sense of needing more space ,so cars could jam up blows me away. Free money called a stimulus fund was used to change the balance of nature blending in with modern man. I believe there is such a thing as too much development. It is a point in time when sense of balance between man and nature is disturbed and the outcome is not one of future balance. It is one of development insanity. However, unlike the bug problem I had, this one will not heal.

Movie Time

This is a picture of my movie theatre in New Smyrna called "The Beacon." It is an escape from the everyday routine and something pretty cool to attend. I like their butter popcorn. I get a large diet coke to go along with the butter popcorn. I didn't go this weekend because mom said the movies were second rate. The reviews of " 17 Again" and "State of Play" were poor. I will go see the new "Star Trek" movie there and what other good movie that should come to this theatre. I might go to see the Disney one about the animals opening Wednesday. The advertisement said Disney will plant a tree for everyone who attends the movie. This sounds like a pretty cool deal.

Saturday was fun

It is Sunday morning and there is no limo parked across the street. Yesterday, was a fun day to see people fishing and going in the ocean. It did get cool towards the evening. The wind off of the ocean water was cool. Mom had a sweater on to keep warm. Even the surfers were giving up the fight to find the perfect wave to ride in on. One by one they would head out of the ocean with their surf boards tucked underneath their arms. I guess they figure they will live to fight the waves another day. When I was approaching the South bridge after deciding not to go to the movies, I saw a sailboat almost on its side traveling underneath the bridge catching a wind current. It was a sailboat like the one displayed in the picture. I figure most sailboats this size have motors on them. Why would they want to use their sails to travel underneath a bridge?

Saturday stuff

I had to change the batteries out of an old laser pen, I bought from a convent store when I worked in Orlando. The pen was made in China. I only know what I bought is kind of a novelty item which I shine around when no one is around. I also use it to scare away the squirrels. The squirrels tend to scamper off when they know the light is around. The laser pen is a bit of a mystery to me. I don't know how it operates. What makes the little red light shine? This is a picture of the South Bridge taken at sunset The orange, yellow and soft peach glow is a nice background to the headlights descending down the bridge. Today it is back to the bank to deposit more unemployment money.

A boat ride

There is a vent on the outside my house that has a fluttering sound like a old deck of thinly sliced wooden cards being shuffled all night long. Last night the sound was real strong and so was the wind. I had my mom's face turning slightly green as I was describing being on a ship out in the wind at night. The waves moving the boat up and down and side to side. You can hear the sloshing of the water against the sides of the boat. You can smell the strong salt water in the air and the salt spray that stings and dries your face. The motion sicken is too much to bare, so you hang your head over the side of the boat to relieve the pressure which had been building inside of you. Does this help? It is kind of unlikely because this is similar to what my sister and I went through riding a glass bottom boat off the coast of Freeport, Bahamas. All the passenger were expecting a cruise like ride to see the expensive houses along the island and the undersea life which lived below the glass in the center of the boat. However, our driver was careless and thrived on other people's misery. There was one lady who was in tears and offered to pay him, if he would just turn around and go back to shore. He laughed with a tone of defiance. This urged him to cut through the waves sharper and make the boat go faster as he continued to laugh." He didn't want to rob the other passengers of their trip. " This is what he stated to be his soul purpose. I was green, but I didn't throw up, but my sister did. It was a ride we would remember for a very long time.

What is for dinner?

Mom is making Tyson Chicken patties which I will have on a sandwich. Great instant food. Place in Microwave for one to two minutes and then build sandwich. Today was Bonanza and a little Gun Smoke. I had a nice day at home. I heard the Central Florida Fair opened today. I bet Lillian will take her parents there before moving. This is a nice ending to a nice day. It helps to be at the right place and the right time to take the cool picture. The body of water is the Calalesa Creek facing the Intercoastal Waterway. Mom says the meal is ready and so and I.

Fix up projects

Today the yard trash gets picked up. The big pile along the edge of the front yard will be gone. Ready for a new one to be created by Wayne. A guy who is dating the granddaughter of the neighbor down the street. Wayne is a fix it guy who does a bit of everything. One of the task mom has on his agenda is to trim off the top of the orange honeysuckle shrub growing along the side of the fence. This will take a lot of cutting and create more big piles for the trash people to pickup. Another great task of Wayne is he will be fixing my bed frame, so my bed does fall apart anymore. Plus, mom is having him fix up the clothes line. I say," Wayne will be busy for quite a while." I hope dinner tonight will be spaghetti. I got some spaghetti sauce which has sea salt in it and no sugar. I am wanting to see how good it will taste.

Grey day and the sun is trying to shine through

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! Sound familiar? Maybe, from the story "Alice in Wonderland." The rabbit who couldn't get to or do things on time. I stayed under the covers with the TV set talking about the weather and the weather radio cutting in with sever tornado watches and warnings. Plus, sever thunderstorm watches and warnings. It turns out all the bad stuff went to Brevard County and we only got a couple of thunder claps and some strong blowing wind. I just hope the yard trash holds together and doesn't blow down the street. Mom is planning a tuna casserole for dinner. It will have mushroom soup and potato chips in it. I am wanting to see a new movie opening up May 1. It is about a guy who is visited by 3 past girl friend that are ghost. This story is similar to "Scrooge" but with a comic twist. This is a picture of my mom trying to feed the seagulls her leftover bread. The only problem is a park worker told her to go down on the beach. They didn't want the seagulls disturbing the visitors or leaving deposits.

It's garbage day

How exciting! The bags of garbage go out to be picked up today. I worked on cutting limbs yesterday. I created a pile of yard trash for Wednesday pickup. I feel like I am making progress and I haven't even played Scrabble Blast online . Yesterday was such a nice day to be outdoor. Today should be pretty nice as well. Tomorrow, rain showers is suppose to come. I heard even some strong storms are suppose to arrive. I think rain is nice because it makes everything grow. I think of growing, so I can cut things back. I appointed myself head pruner around here for now. Glendon, my sister, finished her weekend of work. She has some time off to take care of her family pets. She has six horses, chickens, two dogs and two cats. Plus, she has a female turkey named Hillary who lays her giant turkey eggs. I was grateful to hear about the rescued captain. I feel like this was a true answer to prayers. I thought it very appropriate the rescue should occur on Easter. The first dog Bo looks cute as a button. I think he will be a good addition to the First Family.

Happy Easter

On 18th Avenue in New Smyrna Beach, one front porch has captured the Easter Bunny (ies) , and here they are. The lady creating her overstuffed toy display asked to be called on the phone this morning at 7 a.m. so she would not oversleep and miss church by 8 a.m. in order to sing in the choir at two Easter services at St. Peter's Episcopal church.

Pauline is very caring every day, just not only on Easter, looks after her neighbors and is involved in a church project, "Promise," that helps the homeless and those who can't help themselves. She hosts a church group of crafters once a week when they gather in her backroom to sew novelties including dolls out of donated material that are sold on demand for $3.00 all year long and at the church'es Christmas bazaar. All of the funds derived from the ladies' busy work go to help support "Promise."

Pauline is just one interesting neighbor on l8th Avenue. If you knock on any door on our street, there is a story there.

Easter is tomorrow

I sure got a late start on the blog today. I am just loving sleeping in. I don't know if we will attend the sunrise service or wait till later. Dinner this evening was fried chicken and mashed potatoes with chicken gravy and a big salad. Tomorrow, mom intends on cooking a ham for Easter dinner.

Glendon is working very hard this weekend. She has horse tubs to clean and horses to feed. She works all day and comes home to take care of her bunch. She has a turkey that just loves her cat food. The chickens lay about eight eggs a day. Plus, what she can collect from the turkey. One turkey egg is the size of two chicken eggs. I still present another moonlight picture of water with moonlight reflecting off the top of it. I am ready for my chocolate bunny tomorrow and if I don't get one. I will go to CVS half price sale and get me a sugar free chocolate bunny if they have any left.

Fun at home

This morning I am about to hang out the clothes. It was very foggy last night. I could hardly catch a glimpse of the moon. Lots of humid weather. Now it looks pretty dried out. The weatherman says" Florida is still in the dry season until the first of June." I actually like this type of weather. It doesn't seem too extreme. My sister went back to work today for half a day. I guess it is good she get back into a routine after a birthday and wedding last weekend. This is a picture I took of moonlight reflecting on the water. It is kind of relaxing just to look at the picture. We are having Salmon for dinner this evening and either fried chicken tomorrow or Sunday. I don't know if we will be going to a sunrise service or just regular church. I guess this will be a last minute decision.

Moonlight thoughts

Last night for dinner mom and I had chili with biscuits and egg custard made with the nutria sweet stuff. The food tasted good with the cool weather. Mom and I went to look at the ocean in the evening. The moon was starting to make a glow pattern over the water. I always considered this kind of pretty to look at. The way the light spreads out over the open water. It is like someone spreading tiny diamonds out for you to walk on. The ocean was very calm and looked like mom's " Lake Atlantic. " Almost a copy version of what you would see if you were looking out the West Coast of Florida. Looking out into the open water, it was hard to believe all sorts of sharks, whales and other countries live beyond the horizon. I can't even imagine Lillian over in the Bahamas with Aaron. Somehow the realness escape me when I just look out over open water. I guess it is like looking at an airplane in the sky and imagining hundreds of people sitting on the tiny little object in the sky. Have you looked at jets and imagine people in their early twenties flying those big fancy engines in the sky? I have always been amazed by the tail stream left behind. I like how the white trail tends to spread out and make interesting patterns in the sky.

It is nice to return home

Mom and I came home tuckered out, but we were OK. We had a good trip in cool weather. The rain storm from Monday had cleared out and the traffic wasn't as heavy as when we drove to Glendon's place. On the way home, we stopped at a gas station which made Subway subs. I got a big Steak and Cheese sub which they called a Philly Cheese Steak. Mom and I split the sub with a bag of chips and mom brought in some juice for us to drink. This was perfect timing and made the trip home more enjoyable. I liked the cool weather, but I didn't care for the cool wind blowing again my skin. I guess, I was a bit more sensitive than I thought. We left Glendon's pet turkey and she was non the wiser. The turkey had her established routine and people were just a side factor. I based this idea, because one day she was real friendly and the next day she did not want to be petted. She came for the cat food, but when she was full she went off on her own. I still like the noises she made and I think she thought she was a big chicken. She hung around a rooster and two hens and hunts for bugs and food like they did. They were her adopted family.

Back to the beach

Our time at Glendon's place is drawing to a close. Mom and I head back to New Smyrna tomorrow. There will be no more night birds off in the distance. Instead, maybe some night crickets. Mom and Glendon are watching "Dancing with the Stars."

Another nice windy wet day at Williston

The roosters are crowing and the birds are singing. The chimes are blowing their soft melodies dictated by the force of the wind. It is a wet morning. I don't know if it will be oatmeal again for breakfast or eggs. I will probably guess oatmeal.

Happy Wedding Day

Lillian and Aaron Tanzier are married

April 5, 2009

Ready to face the day

Marriages seem to be one of the most exciting and scary challenges a person can make. The anticipation building up to this day must be overwhelming for Lillian. She is looking at it as a grand new adventure. She had to burn a few bridges in the process. She gave up her job of 25 years. The security of working is no longer there. She gave up her apartment , so her only place to live will be with her new husband Aaron. She gave up being single which has a plus side of having someone there for you. However, your decision making freedom is not what it use to be as a single person. Your choice is not your own."I must consult my husband." What words of doom! I hope there will be a freedom to let the person be the best he or she could be. I hope there will not a domination factor that squelches the fire of the meeting of two souls. The two shall be as one caring for the two.

The turkey has status

I did find the entrance to the garden and placed the trash into the proper trash barrel. I haven't burned the trash yet. I do intend to do this with the daylight. Mom and Glendon are outside the computer room chatting away. Coffee brings out the best in people. I find, I am more alert mentally after drinking a cup or maybe two. The female turkey named Hillary has had some of her cat food, which she loves first thing in the morning. She will fight the dog for her food and her territory. Glendon says she also likes the red car which belongs to mom parked outside. Hillary makes sounds like a goose. She is a full fledged turkey, but sounds like a goose. She has established a new nest where Glendon does not know where it is located. The results are turkey eggs piling up without being collected.

Burning trash by starlight

Glendon, my sister, has two trash burn barrels. It seemed so easy this morning, to get a good flashlight and head to the garden ,where I knew one of the trash barrels was located. I could see the heads of cabbage in the darken starlight garden. The flashlight provided direction to the garden and sight on where the spider webs were forming. I was able to knock out the spider webs with a swipe from the garbage bag heading for the burn barrel. Glendon's two cats followed along racing through the brush without fear of hitting anything in the dark. Do cats have night vision? It makes me wonder how good they really can see after dark. I dropped the garbage into the garden not knowing really where the entrance was. Glendon had changed around the garden concept, so the chickens could eat the old stuff and she could make maximum use of new ground material. What was really touching was to see the head honcho dog Soldier sleeping with his paws around the food bowl under the carport. He knows he goes to bed eating and wakes up eating or anything in between. What a guy!! The daylight is up and the rooster is out of the tree he sleeps in and crows before dawn. There is a third rooster from the neighbors who looks like Golden Boy which is the rooster in the trees. The third rooster establishes territory where Golden Boy isn't around.

Arriving for the weekend

Mom and I arrived at my sister's place around 5:30 in the evening. The trip was rain free and mom had brought the carrot cake here for Glendon's birthday. My sister got a pretty nice day according to the weather. It wasn't raining or lighting or any twisters in the area. The dogs greeted mom and I. The turkey chimed in right behind Glendon. The chimes were singing softly in the wind. Mom and my sister Glendon were in deep conversation which I had decided not to participate. I am here on the computer giving a report on what it was like to travel from New Smyrna Beach through the Ocala National Forrest to my sister's place on the outskirts of Williston. The sun has a nice soft glow on the wooden door. My sister has something cooking in the crock pot. I would venture to guess it was bean soup. At least, it smells like bean soup. Every animal has it's role on the farm and Glendon is like the head conductor of an orchestra of animal behavior. Speaking of music, I was listening to Bocelli and Pavarotti before daylight with my morning cup of coffee. I was getting into the feel of the music. This evening the music is the soft chirping noises coming from Hillary the female turkey. Mom and I passed one accident in the forrest. There were lots of police cars and one abandoned truck in the woods. I was glad to keep going and reach our destination here in Williston.

Relatives in California

I saw a picture of a hot dog with all the trimmings on it. The hot dog reminded me of the story my Uncle Perry from California tells of the greatest Spanish hot dogs in Logansport, Indiana. This is a bragging issue he loves to talk about it seems every time we talk on the phone. My mom and my Uncle have such great memories of Logansport, but as my mom pointed out they are totally different. He told me about being a lifeguard and meeting my Aunt Vera and letting her swim for hours in the lake. I have seen some pictures which my Uncle sent when he was younger. I compared him to a young James Cagney. He had that James Cagney look. When I talk with my Uncle, he usually talks with me on his speaker phone. I have a double conversation with my Uncle Perry and my Aunt Vera. My Uncle raises Yorkies. They are his close pets. He sells the puppies and gets a good price, because the Yorkies are pure bred. My Uncle and my mom both are strong Democrats. They share the Democratic ideas about the US economy and political views. My Uncle's son Franklin lives near his parents. He works as a security guard, so he is out working during the night. Franklin is a lot of fun when he comes to visit. Franklin likes to go see our Florida attractions. He likes Disney, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Universal and St. Augustine. I don't know if or when he would come back to Florida, but I am sure it will be a grand adventure.

Evening with the pigeons

The sun is out this morning. No signs of storms coming. Probably, later in the day. Mom took me to see the beach where people were playing in and out of the water. The beach was lined with Seagulls and Pigeons. They were in search of some food. There were puddles of water in the parking area where we parked the car. We came home in time to see American Idol. We both are huge fans, but I don't agree with any of the judges. I think their evaluations of the singers are usually bogus. I guess this is just my opinionated view.

A picture of orange color

I know there is a sun out there hiding away behind the clouds. The clouds seem to be turning whiter. This is yard trash day and we don't have any yard trash for the garbage people to pick up. The yard spraying people " True Green" showed up so mom will deal with them. Mom wanted a picture taken of the orange hibiscus. It seems like an over sized bouquet of orange flowers. " Happy April Fools day." The first of a new month and warmer weather returning. I thought the hummingbird was gone, but I was wrong. I say it on top of the honeysuckle bush along the fence line.