Halloween

Today, I am home listening to "Halloween" the movie. The music is scary and you can hear breathing in the background. The best part is you don't have to see the people and animals get slashed up by the monster. I tried to go over to the beach, but the parking was filled up. We didn't buy much in the way of candy because mom didn't thing many young children would show up here tonight. Usually, the young children go to parties held in other locations. At least, I will get sandwiches and chips out of the deal. Right now it looks sunny and hot outside with a clear blue sky. The tree across the street has leaves with shiny reflective lights.

Pondering cool weather

The sea can be charming when you capture it on film. This is what I did the other day. Today it was shuttling people to and from medical appointments. I can look into the picture and see a vastness of water. The water grants lots of space. It gives the idea the there are endless possibilities and lots of room to fill the space. This is the idea I get when I let the wind blow on me at the beach. Halloween is tomorrow. It is going to be a warm Halloween. Sunday will be the time to set the clocks back an hour. I hope with a new month, the weather will be a bit cooler. I am ready for a return of the cool weather.

Events around Halloween

It is getting near Halloween. Mom doesn't expect young kids in costume to come to our door. This reminds me of when I lived in Oakland, Florida and my dad would want the trick or treaters to come to the door. He wanted to see what they looked like. I wanted to give out candy as soon as they said "trick or treat." I like the old black and white movies such as " The blob." This is what I want to enjoy around Saturday. My friend Dee is going up North with a friend to see the Pandas. She is going both to Memphis and Atlanta. I told her she might encounter snow. I know the snow is coming down up North. My other friend Russ Williams is facing surgery. I found this out through his friend Martha Bird. According to what she wrote, I vote for option one. I hope it works out for you and you are able to dance again.

Ares is a go

As we get closer to Halloween, the most spooky thought I could think of is the Ares rocket actually did fly. The public never got to see the parachutes that is suppose to save the first stage of the rocket, so it could be recovered. The launch encountered delay after delay. I thought this thing would never get off the ground. It was like "The big joke." The weather was so cloudy here in New Smyrna Beach, I could barely see the little light through the clouds. Usually, Brevard has all the bad weather and we at the beach in New Smyrna have good weather. How can it be turned around? The weather lady held the key to clearing the way for the rocket to take off. This rocket had so many weather restrictions. I am curious in a couple of weeks, will all the details about the launch be released? It is still six years before they send someone to ride this rocket back into space. This is a very long time. Will NASA still hold the public eye about space exploration? Will the public be disinterested and consider the space flights a big waist of money? Personally, I am a fan of the space shuttle;even if, it is getting old. The shuttle can carry more into space and land like a plane. I guess we will have to wait and see what the future brings.

Tuesday events

We missed Leon 's retirement party. This is a person who worked in the office where my mom was the Administrator Assistant. He had been a State of Florida employee for 35 years. This retirement party was held in Ocoee at an Italian restaurant. I know it was probably good,but we had some obligations here. This is the week mom, my neighbor Laurel and I all have medical appointments. Maybe, by next week, we will be free of these obligations. Dinner this evening was Mahi Mahi and fried potatoes with some frozen vegetables.

I saw the CVS sunset

I saw the sunset behind CVS this evening. It was a faded gold color and then softly layered like sand in a jar which would reminded me of New Mexico. It was a South Western looking sunset. I had to pick up something from CVS which didn't take long. I was in and out before it turned really dark. I finished the leftover spaghetti for lunch. It was good. Dinner was cooked hamburger, onion, green pepper with some brown rice. I haven't tackled dessert yet."Dancing with the stars" is on tonight. I may watch some of it, but I don't think I will see it all.

Sunday in New Smyrna Beach

The latest I heard from the weatherman is that it would be unlikely the Ares rocket would launch Tuesday morning because of the weather. There is a 60 percent chance of rain predicted at that time. I did get the clothes out on the clothes line and back in when they were dry. This picture was taken at the entrance to the park at 27Th. Avenue. I got a close up shot of this lizard and he kind of looks like the Geico lizard. Dinner was a boneless pork loin and baked potato with okra and yellow squash. Television today was Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Andy Griffith. The neighbors are all nestled quietly in their homes. The sun is fading out for the day.

We had fish for dinner

I thought this was another ordinary moon or half moon picture,until I notice the craters on the lower portion of the moon. Dinner was fried cod. Mom said she dipped the fish in egg twice and floured it twice. The crust turned out real nice. The cod fish was a white flaky fish. It needed a little salt for flavor, but it still was really good. Mom also fried up some bay scallops. We had white corn on the cob with a salad. Fruit was cut up cantaloupe. This is the kind of dinner mom thought Red Lobster would charge twenty dollars. She considered fried fish and bay scallops two entree. I thought dinner was really good.

Review of the movie " The Perfect Storm"

I was watching "The Perfect Storm" last night. The tail end where the fishing boat" Andrea Gail" tries to rise over a fifty foot wave. It goes close to the top and flips over. This is the fishing boat that looked like a shrimp boat which didn't want to give up the fight to stay alive. The movie shows one person making it to the top of the waters while he watches his captain and the ship with the rest of his crew mates sink to the bottom of the ocean. The guy above the water goes down eventually. He gives a little speech on how he loves his wife and there is an image of her as he states his undying love. The movie portrayed the captain as someone who would gamble his life and the life of his crew just to bring in a load of fish. The captain tried to turn the boat around to get to safety after about loosing the boat. He wasn't willing to give up when the crew wanted to go home. He bullied the crew by telling them they weren't men, if they didn't stick out the rough weather. It was a good movie, but I didn't want to see the encore presentation. Once a night is enough.

Thursday is over

This is a picture of Cape Fear Honey Suckle. It is nice to see it in bloom and to see the bees buzzing around the flowers. I wait for the return of the hummingbird. If the hummingbird does show, I will try to get my camera ready to take a picture. Tonight, mom is watching "The Perfect Storm" with George Clooney. Dinner wasn't beef stew. We both took a little nap in front of the television and the beef was turned to charcoal black. The beef stew was tossed in the trash and replaced with a tuna casserole. Plus, we had a salad to go along with dinner. It is almost Friday and getting closer to the launch of the Ares rocket.

Comfort foods

Today dinner was Chinese food with won ton soup. I got a big batch of chicken with Chinese vegetables. I think Chinese food is comfort food. When I eat won ton soup, it is like eating mom's chicken noodle soup. I had sugar free almond cookies for dessert. Tomorrow dinner will be beef stew. I have some buttermilk biscuits which will go good with melted canola margarine. Mom also likes to put jelly on top of the biscuit. It is almost hot enough for ice cream. There is a variety of sugar free chocolate ice cream from Breyers that I though was very good. I can not think in terms of hot chocolate when the weather has turned warm.

Rocket verses the Shuttle

I watched in awe as I absorbed the height of the new rocket set to replace the space shuttle. I could not picture myself riding on something so thin. I wonder what type of astronaut would chance to be the first to ride the rocket? I know the space shuttle is very old, but it has more room for the astronauts to move around and can carry more than just two or three people at a time. The space shuttle also lands like a plane which is easier than splashing down in the ocean or landing in some field like those in Russia.

What to do on Monday

It was so nice this morning. I went to have blood drawn at Quest. I did not have to fast. I came after the morning crowd and got in with only a short wait. I had leftover casserole and a large salad for lunch. Mom made some bean soup which I will have for dinner. This afternoon the clouds have taken over the nice blue sky. The wind was blowing, but not now. I think it is suppose to get warmer according to the weatherman. I am going to miss the cool weather. This is a picture of two dogs playing on leashes. One looks like a Boxer and the other a Schnauzer.

Eventful Sunday

Sunday dinner was beef and noodles. Mom said " the water was all soaked up in the noodles." I though it was very tasty and I also liked the okra that came with the meal. It is approaching sunset time again. I am nicely tucked away in front of the computer. Earlier in the day, mom and I stopped by 27Th. Avenue after going to the store. I pointed my camera towards the North and I believe this looks like a sail boat. The waves were also choppy. The waves kept a pelican from settling into the ocean like sitting on top of a lake. The ocean took on personality. It seemed to come alive. There were very few people at 27 Th. Avenue. I did see two dogs playing with each other on leashes. It was neat to watch.

Tucked away on Saturday

The cool weather finally arrived. I had a turkey sandwich for lunch and went to sleep afterwards. I took a nap. This is a picture of my former doctor who lives in Winter Garden, Florida. His name is Dr. Albert Gleason and it seems like he has been a Winter Garden resident for a very long time. He has been retired for many years, but I still call him once in a while to see how he is doing. I also call my friends Mr. and Mrs. Voss from the Town of Oakland, Florida. Mom and I use to live in Oakland and I would go visit the Voss family often. Through the power of the cell phone and collecting so many minutes, I am able to keep in contact with certain people from my past.

I am ready for a cool down

I decided on the Edgewater sunset picture. It seemed nice to bring in the cool weather. I can just let the cool weather soak through my skin. No more nineties for a little while. I hope it knocks some of the bugs away. It would be nice not to get bitten. Dinner this evening was a turkey breast with a baked microwave potato and corn on the cob cooked in the microwave. Biketoberfest is on the way and the bikers are rolling in. When I was on the North end of the beach next to Flagler Avenue, the bikers were claiming their seats over at "The Breakers Restaurant." The more weird scene to me was two shirtless teenage boys one had a Mohawk with a short ponytail in the back. The other had curly hair that hadn't been washed in a couple of weeks. I read the licensed plates on back of one set of bikers. They were from New Jersey. I just heard New Jersey got four inches of snow.

Meet the people, campaigning to make a difference

How do you greet New Smyrna Beach royalty?Mom summoned me to meet the Mayor "Sally Mackay." She was without makeup which she is featured in her fliers with makeup. I seem to detect a slight British accent. I don't know if she is originally from England or has some English heritage. I was able to get three pictures of her along with my mom. As she was departing, she says" contact me anytime." However, her flyer did not allow us to send any e-mail. We wanted to send her a picture, but was unable to get through. The flyer says that she is downtown every Saturday. Mom may be able to take a picture to her at her campaign headquarters.

A fall beach day

It is the middle of the week and still hot as anything. I was able to tolerate being down at the beach in the morning on the North end taking pictures from the park. Biketoberfest starts tomorrow. Today, the beach was very light with people. This guy seems to be a devoted fan of surfing. I observed him riding the waves inland and he seemed to be doing pretty good. Dinner was Chinese Chicken Lo Mien and Won Ton Soup with a spring roll and fortune cookie. Mom also had Won Ton Soup and a fortune cookie. She got the better fortune than I did. The fortune cookie said "you would have buckets of gold." Mine was very general sounding and nothing special. The weather man says we are going to get cooler over the weekend. I am so ready for cooler weather. Are you?

Bee Happy

The sun is coming up. I haven't had breakfast yet. I did have a cup of coffee and some Cinnamon English muffins. This picture is of the bee keeper named Jack. He is the son of the owner whose name appears on the name tag they place on the jars of honey sold. Jack came down from Rhode Island after his stepfather passed away to help build the bee hives from 80 to 350. Jack was also stating they sell a certain brand of honey to the bakeries. It is sweet to the bakeries, but bitter to everyone else. He also stated that they have been in business for forty-seven years. Jack and his mom live in Osteen, Florida and have great honey at good prices. I believe it is better than a store bought brand.

Lunch at Red Lobster

This is a group picture of my former Supervisor Georgia Linderman and her daughter Linda Murphy. My mom Glendora Rider and I (Nancy Rider) were also featured in the picture. This was taken at Red Lobster in Orlando. We met Georgia and her daughter for lunch. I wished I paid more attention to what each person ordered for lunch. I only remember bits and pieces. I had a pasta with lobster and craw fish. Linda had chicken strips. My mom had a cup of clam chowder and some of Georgia's Cesar salad. I also had a regular salad with ranch dressing. Mom was afraid my salad had garlic, but it did not. We looked at a picture of Linda's grandson. We also talked about our animals along with Morgan who is my sister's dog and equivalent to Georgia's Gator dog. They both are Labradors and playful. Plus, they both love to eat.

Dinner today and lunch tomorrow

Lillian wrote back, so I know she is doing well.

I just made some tapioca with agave sweetener. It taste pretty good and I am eating it warm. Dinner was pork cutlets with mashed potatoes and half a sweet potato. Plus, some yellow squash. I was too filled up to eat the corn. I know it needs to be consumed before it goes bad. I do love corn on the cob. Tomorrow, lunch will be at Red Lobster in Orlando. Mom and I are going for our six month teeth cleaning. We are going to meet some friends for lunch before the teeth cleaning. I look forward to eating those cheese biscuits which I like very much. It should be a nice afternoon.

Saturday evening

It is overcast and we had rain, lightening and thunder here at the beach. Now it is a solid gray color in the sky. I see the neighbor's cat climbing on top of the roof. I figure it can get down if it can get up. Maybe the weather will clear in the morning. Even if it doesn't at least, I can watch some good Sunday television. Dinner tonight was yellow squash with lasagna heated in the microwave. Plus, pineapple for a fruit. I found a picture of my friends Dick and Lillian which I haven't seen for quite awhile. Lillian is in Delaware and Dick and I talk to on the phone every once in a while. I haven't heard from Lillian , so I wonder how she is doing?

Sweet thoughts

I got a picture of gardenias to remember the sweet smell of fresh flowers. The fragrance of gardenias will brighten up the car we drive and ride in. The gardenias make a nice addition to the kitchen table. I like holding on to good thoughts when times get rough. My sister has a neighbor who passed away from cancer. She was a nice lady and had recently gone through a divorce. The memorial for her will be held Sunday evening. Her remains will be flown back to Puerto Rico. This was closure to the chapter in her life. I think she really connected with Puerto Rico and here she was done playing the good wife, grandmother, mother, cook and seamstress. Mom was talking about how the wind has picked up over at the beach. Most of the summer it has been still with high humidity and extreme heat. Mom says I should write about getting the Monk's bread from Publix. It was a two month challenge. It makes cooking raisin toast that much sweeter.

Dinner at the Beacon

Mom and I ate out this evening. We went to the Beacon. Mom had the baked flounder and I had the butterfly shrimp. Neither one of us had dessert. It was nice not to have to wash the dishes. Most of the meal was quiet with very few people. Towards the end of the meal, more couples started pouring in to eat dinner. The beach was pretty quiet today. There wasn't a lot of visitors. This evening after dinner, mom and I did go to the North end and saw some Asian looking people who could have been Buddhist monks and rice pickers. One lady was wearing a pointed hat. The guys were wearing draping clothes. What do you think about the crashing of the probe on the moon? I guess I have to wait and see how it is until after the event.

Where is the cool weather?

The heat seemed so unbearable with the humidity. There weren't alot of people at the beach. It seemed stagnet. There were no sailboats on the water. The shrimp boats were off in a distance towards Daytona Beach. I thought I was taking a picture of a blimp towards Daytona Beach, but when I looked at the pictures on the computer it turned out to be something that looked like a parachute. Someone was parasailing. I made a hamburger casserole with mushroom soup and rotinni noodles. The hamburger was cooked separate with onions and mixed in with the noodles and mushroom soup.The casserole was nice for lunch and dinner. Plus, we had leftover chicken noodle soup and cheese and noodles.

Tuesday at home

I took the yard trash out front to be picked up tomorrow. When I reached the curb, I saw lightening in the sky. I could hear thunder off in the distance. I picked the picture of the moon because there was no moon in the sky. I like the rain, but I like the moon too. I eat ice cubes to stay cool. I also picked up the Penny saver out in the front yard. Dinner was chicken noodle soup. Mom included some broccoli and cauliflower as vegetables. She also had dishes of pineapple for a fruit. We also had sugarless almond cookies to munch on. Tonight mom is watching "Dancing with the Stars." Tom Delay withdrew from the competition because of his feet fractures. There will still be a couple leaving the competition tonight.

Monday is here

We got a little bit of rain. It is overcast and very still looking. The baby blue sky is gone for now. I hear thunder off in the distance. I did not get out today to search for photo shots. I stayed home and ate leftover meatloaf. Mom made round steak with tomato sauce and mashed potatoes with chives. The sky is now looking stormy across the street. We could get a small thunderstorm. My sister is going to see the Michael Moore movie. I will be interested to see what she thinks of the movie. The weather is almost to the yucky, yucky stage. I just saw some lightening so I better cut this short. I hope you have nicer weather.

What to do on Sunday

This morning was sausage gravy with English muffins and a fried egg. I also made a small meatloaf. I had a meatloaf sandwich for lunch and meatloaf for dinner. Plus a couple ears of corn cooked in the microwave. I also went back with my mom to see the Michael Moore movie again. I enjoyed it the second time around. Tonight it is sixty minutes I listen too. Tomorrow will be the fifth of October. It will be garbage day. Mom and I will get an update of how Glendon's pet turkey is doing. Her turkey got bit by a dog in the chest area and the wing. She had to be stitched and put under so she wouldn't squirm. My sister was suppose to give her a shot of penicillin this evening.

Picture evening

I got to take pictures of the rain tree that turned red after hosting some yellow blossoms. Afterwards, we went looking for the Jeep that mom thought was cute. It was gone. The disappointment was there between the two of us. Mom drove from US1 to the North entrance of the beach. I took lots of shrimp boat pictures. Plus, some small speed boats. I liked the boats that pass each other. They were almost musical looking. It was like a waltz of the boats. The crashing of the small waves blended in perfect harmony with the kids playing in the sand building sand castles. There was a wedding party which mom alerted me to and I took some pictures. I stood behind the professional photographer and tried to blend in. They turned out to be as good as what the professional photographer would produce in my opinion. The moon came up over the Atlantic ocean full and turned more distinctive the higher it climbed in the sky. I went home with a camera full of interesting pictures and some to share with others.

Saturday stuff

I got out to the movies this afternoon to see Michael Moore's new movie "Capitalism" A love story. I enjoyed the movie because Michael speaks to the people and explains who benefits from Capitalism and who does not. It is like the rich get richer and the poor get foreclosed and kicked out of their homes. On the way to the movies, I saw a rain tree with real red blossoms and coming back on the Inter coastal Waterway, I saw a real rich yacht. I also saw a sailboat for sale on back of a boat trailer parked in front of a condo complex. I came home after getting gas for my truck and convinced mom that she should go see the movie. I think she is interest. Tonight was leftover chili and leftover beef roast. Mom made tuna fish sandwiches for lunch.

Meal time

Lunch and Dinner was a beef roast. It was very hard to cook because it did not want to cook in the middle. We kept the air off until this evening. I was hoping for more of a breeze , but did not get it. This is an old picture which I chose because I wanted something with flowers. I was in a flower mood. The sun is getting into a sunset mode. The sky has been a deep light baby blue. It is like jumping into a blue balloon and finding no way out. The evening dishes are being washed in the dishwasher. The last bit of watering the grass is being done before the weekend. We still have leftover chili which will make another nice meal. What is your favorite meal for cooler weather? Is it something you cook or other people cook for you?