Last day of June

Today is Farrah Fawcett's private funeral. Today is also the last day of June. We got two good soakings from the rain yesterday. Today, I hope for more rain. The rain helps keep the temperature from climbing into the 90's. Dinner was cream of turkey which was made with cream of mushroom soup, English muffins and leftover turkey. It was a great way to get rid of the leftover turkey. I pretty much gobbled it up.

This is a picture of the Gardenias that smelled so good and lasted a short time. I do miss the odor and the white flowers. I guess maybe next year it will be back.

Lillian is adapting

Lillian said she finally got her duplicate car title from Florida, so she was able to transfer it all to her Delaware address. She has a driver's license from Delaware. Her car has been inspected from Delaware and now her car title is from Delaware. She has stated that she has seen fireflies and wild rabbits where she lives. This sounds neat. You don't catch fireflies here at New Smyrna Beach. You catch mosquitoes and no-seeums. The weathermen promised us three days of good rain. I hope they are right. It will keep the air cooled down and the grass watered.

The calm before the storm

Yesterday there was rain in the afternoon, but it cleared out in the evening. The weather was nice. My sister Glendon said the weather was nice. She is having trouble getting any television stations where she is located. The converter box doesn't seem to help; even though, she scans the stations like they tell her. The signals doesn't seem to cover Levy County. She misses her analog stations and says" the digital is not what it is cracked up to be. " My mom fried up a Porter House Steak from Food Lion for dinner. She served this along with a spinach salad. Both were very good and I was trying to get the juices from the bone. I wonder if we will have spaghetti for dinner this evening? Mom got the sauce and I have been wanting it, since I heard Lew had spaghetti.

Looks like a tropical system coming Maybe TS. Anna

The weatherman from Channel 9 says lots more rain coming to Central Florida especially on Tuesday. This tropical system which could turn into Tropical Storm Anna has the pathway sight for the Central Florida area. Right now the sun is very intense and the clouds are starting to build. I don't know if they will get the weather satellite off the ground due to the weather. However, if they put the launch off maybe the rocket will go.

Lots of Hollywood stuff on television

Tonight we had a turkey breast for dinner. Mom also had a big head of real green broccoli. We split a potato and laced it with turkey gravy. Turkey gravy also went on the cooked turkey. The news has been dominated by the passing of "Farrah Fawcett" and " Michael Jackson." I did some grocery shopping at Winn Dixie and mom shopped at Publix. The two of us got lots of groceries. I see a little bit of a sunset outside the kitchen window as the sound of the dishwasher washes the evening dishes.

This is no cabin

I love the circular stairway leading up to a lofty perch to see way out into the ocean. This house is such a typical storybook beach place where I could imagine the super rich people live. Maybe a doctor or a lawyer or an executive of a rich international company. It is also a picture that could probably go on a romance novel where there are only rich people living the high life. Can you imagine the boats you could see out into the ocean or could you imagine the storms you could see? This would be an ideal view to watch a shuttle launch day or night. I wonder if they have a service to clean the mold that would develop from the humidity or even the salt water buildup? Could you imagine yourself taking a vacation there?

What a nice Wednesday

I went beyond the North entrance to the beach. Some streets around some corners and I land in a parking park. One has a direct passage to the beach and I parked down at the other end where there is an entrance to a shaded picnic bench. It was worth taking park entrance. I got some good pictures and I had time to think and reflect.

This went to the moon

There was a dot of light in the sky that disappeared, before I could take a good picture. I ended up with the leftover smoke tail from the rocket that was carrying two satellites that went to the moon. One satellite was suppose to map out the best places for astronauts to land. The other satellite was suppose to crash into the moon and judge if there is or was drinking water on the moon. I am glad the rocket launch was a success. I hope next month when the shuttle takes off, it will be a success. We did quite a lightening show last night and I am sure there was some rain to go along with the storm. The storm quickly past us and went South to Titusville to give them a show.

A turtle outside our front door

There was a turtle outside our front door who could not travel forward anymore. The heat was squeltchingly hot and a determined turtle it was not. Disappear turtle and return no more.

Starting a new week

Monday seems to go by so fast. The weekend just seemed to fly. Maybe, because of the heat and staying indoors the time just escaped me. Still, I can not think of a more pleasant experience than to stay away from the heat of the day and escape into " Andy Griffith." This picture was taken from underneath the South bridge. Sometimes you can get a real good wind from underneath the bridge. I think this time the wind was very small. Mom drove by last evening to the North end of the beach. She said the beach goers were very color full, but the ocean was like a lake. It was very still looking off in a distance and very little wave action near the shoreline.

Dreaming of cooler weather

The air conditioning reminds me of when the heat of the day was in the 80's and the lows would be in the 50's. The weather sure isn't this cool now. We are pushing near 100. The heat index of 106 can you believe it? I was looking at my buddy Lew's blog and saw where his friend Meg was having a winter solstice in Australia. I say "Wow!" Tonight, I am having tapioca made with Agave for a sweetener. Mom has an old black and white movie from "Turner Classics Movies" on and I can not identify with any of the characters. They all seem larger than life. I am hoping the weather would cool down just a bit.

Food to start the weekend

Mom got me a Kentucky Fried Grilled Chicken dinner with the mashed potatoes and gravy for one side dish and the macaroni and cheese for the other side dish. The first taste of the grilled chicken reminded me of rubber chicken because it had no crust or juice. The taste of the grilled chicken grew on me after eating away at the mashed potatoes and gravy and macaroni. I am still more fond of the fried chicken. However, I do believe this grilled chicken has less grease, than the rotisserie chicken purchased at Winn Dixie or Publix. I encouraged mom to try it out , so she ate a grilled chicken wing that was included in the meal. Kentucky Fried only gave us four coupon dollars for one meal ; instead of, coupons for my mom as well. We both filled out the same form ,but I was the one to write and complain afterwards. I am not happy to hear about the recall of Nestle's toll house cookie dough. I guess it is better than getting sick. However, I don't like to hear about bad things happening to people. I like to enjoy special treats in life which I included Nestle's cookies made from their famous cookie dough.

Still storming this afternoon

I would be surprised if they got the rocket launched today based on the stormy weather. It is nice to be tucked inside where I feel somewhat protected from the rain , lightening and some thunder. I hear thunder outside so I may cut this entry short. Gun smoke is playing and I got ice water to enjoy this afternoon. Everyone stay safe.

No Shuttle today

Another hydrogen leak, well at least they are being cautious. It sounds like there is a problem which needs to be fixed. Meantime, there is this other rocket which I forget when it is going to the moon. Mom made the best hamburger yesterday. It was thick and juicy and had lettuce, tomato and onion. It also had mayonnaise and ketchup. It went down so well while watching television. I don't think the rain storms made it over beachside. They did say New Smyrna had rain storms, but we didn't experience them. Glendon did get some blackberry picking time in during the morning hours. I hope she collects enough to freeze for later, when the blackberry season is not there. Our bird in a bag is still bringing stuff inside the potting soil bag. I can not tell if the babies are born or if she is feeding them yet. She is pretty intense about staying there. It is similar to the story about the Daytona Beach bird which layed her egg in the middle of a populated area. Instead of being moved, officials are letting her raise the baby egg until it is hatched and the baby can fly away.

I love the sunny weather

I love the sunny weather from inside the cool air conditioning house. I spent part of my day yesterday at the emergency room getting a blood transfusion. My blood count got down to 6.1 which was low. I went in as an outpatient thanks to my blood doctor and spent time restoring

my blood count. I got a nice dinner with the blood transfusion. Pork roast with dirty rice, baked apples with small baby carrots. a dish of gravy to pour over the meat and dunk my roll in it. There was no salad dressing for my salad, so I dunked my pork gravy in with the lettuce from the salad. We did have a big storm when I first went into the emergency room and the power went out while I was in the restroom. Today is a rest day and next couple of days will be a rest day until I feel back to normal.

Did you put your flag out today?

I saw the neighbor with her flag out, but I didn't get mine out today. It was nicer indoors watching old movies. Breakfast was bacon, egg and some buckwheat pancakes. It is nice to be indoors with the air conditioning and some cool drink with lots of ice. With all the rain, I just watch the green stuff grow. The bird in the bag is still bringing twigs and I think earth worms into the bag. I can not tell if she is still in the bag when she goes into the bag. I don't even see the eggs now. However, since she claims the bag we won't disturb her until she is known to be gone. I wish the picture would hurry up, so I can turn off the computer. I heard thunder outside and I don't want the computer to be caught.

Storms after ten in the evening

It is past ten in the evening and I can hear the thunder off in the near distance. It has been sunny and hot all day long. It doesn't look like the Orlando Magic will survive this game. When I looked at the scores "The Lakers" were ten points ahead. Mom made me a fancy salad for dinner. Plus, some crackers with cream cheese and black berries. We also ate earlier Boston Market frozen dinners. Mom was turkey and dressing and mine was like a Southwestern chicken with lots of Mexican type spices. I am hearing all the bad news on television. Someone sprayed painted graffiti in a Catholic Church. I forget where it was. The storms are coming, so I better end this entry.

A built up of heat

This storm came down from Flagler County with a tornado warning attached to it. When I went out onto the porch it was 90 degrees. The closer the storm got to New Smyrna Beach the temperature decreased to 82 degrees. It rained and lightening, but it didn't hold on for long. The storm continued to move South and now is over Titusville, Florida. Someone got a picture of a water spout in Flagler County close to the pier.

There is no thunder and I presume no lightening. The sky is just grey and probably some leftover rain making everything more green. This was taken out of my back porch door.

Saturday in the sun

It is quite bright outside. I just wanted to sleep in this morning. This is afternoon nap time and maybe get out in the evening,depending on the weather and how I feel. There is a wren in the potting soil raising a family. I hope she is successful. Mom did some grocery shopping and I took the neighbor to the beauty shop and back home afterwards. It is a kind uneventful afternoon. I hope everyone has a relaxing time with a cool drink.

Friday with the heat

Time just seems to progress forward. It is already Friday June 12, 2009. It seems nice inside with the air conditioning running. Daylight is coming around and it is just after six in the morning. My sister goes to work today and she won't be doing anymore blackberry picking until Monday. She also said she finished up the cake and the blackberry pie. She wants to get more pie crust to make some more pies. The temperature is suppose to get in the 90's today and tomorrow. It sure makes for good drying weather. It takes no time at all waiting for something to dry off of the clothes line.

What is brewing in the new coffee pot?

I piece together the new coffee pot, my sister gave me for my birthday. It took a few moments to get it perking, but when it started it started with a fury. I had the pot unplugged when I heard this loud stormy thunderous sound. It just wasn't a gentle perk, but something quite angry like waking up a volcano. I plugged the coffee pot back into the wall socket and let it do it's thing. When it finished it was silent. There was no light to indicate it was done. It was just silent. The coffee came out boiling hot. The flavor is pretty good. The coffee seems to stay hot for a long time. Mom and I went to the North end where there wasn't much going on out in the water. There were no sailing ships or shrimp boats. There was just a little boat and if you are lucky a pelican or two. The time was well after seven in the evening. There was no rich multi color sunset. The sky was overcast with a soft dull gray color which sets the mood for everyone including the pelicans to get tucked away for the night. Go home and roost in your house with your television set or go to your island of birds and settle down for the night. There is not berry picking around here, but we do have the people and the birds and the beach.

We are back at the beach

It is great to be back home in New Smyrna Beach. I do miss not picking the blackberries and petting the female turkey named Hillary. I would pet her on top of her head and she would go to sleep. I have a bit of unpacking to do and some projects to start, so everything will come together. The yard guy Charles comes tomorrow to make the yard look good. It looks like it will be a hot day and some more hot days ahead for the rest of the week.

Yesterday's Birthday

This is "Hillary" the female turkey hen. She kept me well entertained on my birthday. I was sitting on the porch and she came up almost looked like a bird trying to take off in flight. She stopped when she got to the porch to eat some cat food. "Hillary" loves the organic cat food. She will eat it out of my hand or she will eat it right out of a pan. She squawks like a goose. She also scrunches down in submission like the other hens. When you leave her alone she gets independent. She did and will chase the dog "Soldier" away from his dog bone. I think she is quite a gal. She is also sensitive to the heat. Her neck sucks a lot of air in and out when the weather gets real hot. She lays eggs and Glendon collects them to cook in her organic cakes. The cake I had was an organic Chocolate Cake made by Glendon and "Hillary's turkey egg." Yesterday, we had ribs and today it was Fried Chicken from a grocery store called "Hitchcocks." The chicken was real good along with my sister's potato salad.Glendon also made a blackberry pie with the Agave sweetener and a little flower to thicken the juices. The pie was delicious with some sugar free ice cream.

Happy Birthday to me

I figure I can add a picture later. The machine has been giving me a hard time about adding a picture. The whole e-blog website would freeze up. I can describe how beautiful it was to see the moonlight over Glendon's swimming pool. It was kind of like looking at a full moon over the Atlantic ocean. The rooster was crowing in the background. I am sure he was sleeping in the trees. This is where he goes at night. Plus, some of his hens go up in the trees with him. I probably would have wanted to use a picture of the turkey hen named "Hillary." It turns out she squats like the chicken hens and she starts shaking. She is a big bird and very shy where people are concern. She is not shy about chasing away the dogs, if she sees food she would like to eat for herself. I hear the morning tweets of the daytime birds ,so I think daylight is just around the corner.

Arrival

Mom and I were not ready for an early start this morning to Glendon's place. It turned out we left a lot later, but all the last minute details were taken care of. We took a plastic bag of garbage and found a dumpster over by the Suntrust bank. This was an easy task to get rid of the garbage. Mom drove all the way here to Williston. We passed white water crane type birds with skinny s shaped necks. They were searching for food with their tiny eyes looking kind of sideways. We saw oak trees with the tree trunks submerged in water. You got the sense that the State of Florida was sinking into a watery ocean. This picture was taken in Micanopy. I guess we just drove down there to look at the old houses and antique places selling things. I like this house because it looks like something very Victorian. It is not to often you will see a house like this one. When we arrived I got stung by the stinging neddle plant on my leg. It itched quite a bit for awhile, but eventually the stinging went away. I tried to feed Gator some corn chips which he didn't really take to it. He cured his nose up to me. I got to help turn the beef ribs on the open barbeque pit out back. It was fun to turn them and more fun to eat them. The ribs went nicely with potato salad, corn, regular salad and diet cola. We were suppose to have an extra guest, but he never showed up.

Last Day at 45 yrs. old

Today should be our traveling day. There is lots of preparation to do for a road trip. I haven't started packing. Breakfast is another issue. Folding bed linens and placing them into my bedroom. Plus separating medication to take on trip. I require medication this morning to get through the day. This is like a pre-flight checklist to take the shuttle out for a flight. I did get to watch the Belmont. "Summer Bird" was the winner. "Mine that Bird" came in around third or fourth in the race. There were only ten horses running the race. It was suppose to be the longest track, but the race seemed to run pretty quickly. This is a picture of the pelican with his wings spread out so large. It is hard to capture the pelican's picture because the bird flies so fast. When the pelican zooms by I usually am unprepared to take the picture. However, I think this one turned on alright when it is enlarged in size. Speaking of enlarged, my movie theater charges two dollars more to go see a three dimensional movie verses a regular movie. I remember when 3d movies had no extra charge attached.

Saturday events

The "Belmont" is on today. This is the last of the three races. Someone always sings a horrible rendition of " New York, New York." It is kind of funny to watch. The first race "Kentucky Derby" had a famous Country singer. The second race I forget who sung, but I remember they were pretty good. I heard the little female horse who won the" Preakness" wasn't going to run in this race. I don't know why, but I am sure to find out later. Behind the sunflower is our coffee pot. This pot was bought at Target and is stainless steel. I thought stainless steel coffee pots were suppose to last a good long time, but this one is showing signs of wearing out. Today it made good coffee after reperking itself. This is one of the problems. It seems to start reperking by itself after it has finish perking for awhile. Another problem is the inside of the pot seems to be wearing out. It doesn't look new anymore. We are holding on to this coffee pot in hopes of getting a new one for my birthday. This is a picture of the second sunflower picked after the stem was bent over. Mom didn't think the sunflower would survive another rain storm. Sometimes the rain just beats down the sunflower, the stem gives way and the sunflower seems to be doomed. However, mom cut the top portion of the sunflower which will give it a couple of days more life. I am pretty sure it will rain today, but I don't know what time. Yesterday, we were at home when the rains came. It was a nice safe place to be when the weather got ugly.

Friday around the neighborhood

The sun is back out after the afternoon showers. Lunch and dinner was Publix fried chicken dark meat on sale for $6.49 for eight pieces. Mom also prepared corn on the cob done in the microwave.

The cable went out during the day. Yesterday we lost both the cable and the regular power due to the lighting storm. I felt claustrophobic when there was no air, no lights and no cable. At least this goes on during the daytime and not at night. Sunday is the day we may be going over to my sister's house in Williston. I hope to pick a lot of blackberries. They are in season and are good all year around. If we are able to freeze them, then we can enjoy the berries when they are not in season. No movie today, it might have to wait until I come back from my sister's house next week.

Thursday

I was looking up famous people whom I share a birthday. One was Barbara Bush, another Nancy Sinatra, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright was a cool architect who built buildings with unique designs. Frank Lloyd Wright was born in 1867. He died before 1960. His buildings were futuristic and non traditional. I did go see the movie "UP" by Pixar. Pixar is a company related to Disney. The movie was fun, but not as heart warming as my friend Dee made it out. The end of the story tied well together where the balloons landed this guy's house on a cliff next to a waterfall where his late wife and he had planned to live all through their marriage. I liked the characters, but I did not fall in love with the characters. I think this movie is a good clean movie designed for kids to have fun. The adults are just the side kick to the childlike innocents this movie portrays. Lew, I hope you go see " Land of the Lost." Did you watch the old series like I did?

Endless Thoughts About A Vast Ocean

The ocean is the only place where the water can run and run and no one ever gets a water bill. I guess you could make a joke out of the only water bill that would be generated is a pelican or water bird with a wet beak. I find it unfortunate and sad when a plane goes down in the ocean like the one recently featured in the news. It was traveling to Paris and it suddenly disappeared. The Brazilian Government did find a debris trail and it also was confirmed by the French authorities.The debris trail is a thirty mile span which is a long ways to search. I hope they find the remains of the jetliner and can recover the passengers remains, so the relatives can find closer. It is a gruesome task, but an honorable one for the rescuers. The people don't have to remain forever at the bottom of the sea like they did back when sailing ships were destroyed by pirates and all passengers were doomed. The people that brought the remains of the Challenger shuttle crew were never given credit, but they silently brought peace and closer to the families. This allowed the families to move on in their lives. Sometimes the lowest of all task is the greatest gift to mankind. May there continue to be people with purpose to serve everyone's needs.

What is left on the beach?

Mom said this was an ideal picture. Someone left an abandoned teddy bear on the table by the beach. Did you hear the story about the abandoned baby left in a box in Ocala. Someone had the courage to call the authorities and it looks like the baby girl will be OK. The baby was bug bitten, but not too much else wrong. It is stories like this one that tugs at my heart. How can someone leave a baby alone in a box? Is there a mom and dad even remotely worried about how the baby girl is doing? I hope the baby girl does find a good home where a mom and dad will care for her the rest of her life. She deserves to have love in her life. I hope it will be there for her. This could have been some kid's toy or maybe a small doggy toy. One could only guess where the bear originated. Chicken noodle soup was pretty good last night. We did have a lot leftover. Plus, I saved some chicken out separate, so mom can make her chicken salad sandwiches. I don't know what will be on the dinner plate tonight, but I do know we have corn on the cob to eat. Plus, there is brocolli to eat. I am sure we will figure something out for dinner.

The first day of June

Last night mom and I had pork chops for dinner. We had mashed potatoes and cauliflower with cheese on top. There was a Bonanza marathon playing on television. We watched until we saw the same episodes being played again. The night before mom and I had spaghetti for dinner. I like both spaghetti and pork chops. Maybe, not on the same night. Today is the first day of June. The month of May is over. Tonight is suppose to be chicken and noodle soup. There will be no "Dancing with the stars" until the fall. Mom and I kind of got hooked into " The Bachelorette" which I think is kind of boring. I can not believe seeing the water so calm on the Atlantic ocean. I am always expecting the wave action. Having the water so calm puts a different light on what an ocean should be like. The waters doesn't have that crystal clear view you see in pictures from the islands. It is kind of grey and can easily hide a shark or two. When I see the people in the still water, I think of the "Jaws" movie and how unexpected those people were. Fortunately, everyone here enjoys a day at the beach. The only thing they might endure is a sunburn.