Return to New Smyrna Beach

Mom and I are back home from our trip to my sister's place. I took a lot of pictures of the two youngest horses Velvet and Gator. We dined on turkey breast, organic stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and two types of pies. One was a pumpkin pie and the other was a key lime pie. The key lime pie was really tasty, so mom made another one before we left to go home to New Smyrna Beach. There were trees with colors of red and gold waving in the breeze. The sunlight would dance sparkles on the trees. Some of these verbal descriptions shows up on some of the pictures I took for my sister Glendon. I got to burn some house garbage early in the morning. Glendon has a burn barrel which makes it fairly safe. We do keep a close eye to make sure everything stays within acceptable levels. Glendon took mom and I into Gainesville to watch the Gator fans pile into the Ben Griffin Stadium. Some of the fans had big orange cowboy hats. These hats were way over sized. In some places near the stadium, I saw a sea of blue tee shirts. There were big commercial size grills going with probably cooked ribs and hamburgers. The smells floating into the car were so overwhelming. If there were a spot to pull over, it would have been a great temptation to pull over. Fortunately, I was spared the task of tasting cooked ribs and hamburgers grilled in the great Gainesville outdoors. Plus dozens of fans probably drinking beer to wash down the food before the game . My sister Glendon, my mom and I went home to bean soup and leftover turkey. The Gators won the game against the Noles 37 to 10. Tim Tebow the star quarterback took his final victory lap and has only two more games before leaving the Gator's football team. I wish I could described the feel of the oak tree, the sound of the wind and the glimmering light on the leaves. However, it may be locked up in the pictures I took or the mood that I feel. Memories are a great thing to recall.

We arrived

This crazy computer keeps kicking me off when I try to put a picture on the website. I guess I wanted to say mom and I arrived here at my sister's place OK. The turkey gave us a short greeting and the two dogs were present when we arrived. Dinner here was bean soup. We had sandwiches for lunch. I can only imagine what it was like for people to stand in line for the Sarah Palin book signing.

Trading sea life for farm life

Mom and I decided to hold off on taking the computer into the shop. In a way, I am kind of glad because I can process the last minute falcon stuff I got. Today this silly bird brain was on top of a power line ball. It sounded like some juice was running through him. His feathers went out and limp on each side. The falcon was also being teased by a woodpecker.The woodpecker flew around the falcon squawking at it like a little school kid. My mom wrote about my sister's turkey Hillary. It has been awhile. I can not remember what she sounds like. I do feel proud to have a falcon mascot on our street. Many years ago, I had a four leaf clover. This was back when I was in school. I made the mistake of showing the other kids and they tore up the four leaf clover.I hope this falcon has a happy and productive life. Mom and I will be in a different area where there will be no falcons, but the turkey and the chickens should be lots of fun.

Sunday morning

I got a visit from the falcon this morning. It flew upon an electric post and talked at me or whoever would listen. The bird then flew on for his morning hunt for food. The brown wing span was neat to observe. Mom and I will be at my sister's house in Williston next week. I would be surprised, if this falcon was still here when we got back. Dinner tonight will be beef stew with lots of vegetables according to mom. The sun is out now and mom start a load of clothes. It looks to be a pretty good day.

Saturday before Thanksgiving

The computer will be going into the shop to get a CD burner installed. I will be using my sister's computer when we arrive which will be Tuesday. I might be interrupted by taking the computer into the shop. What I mean is the blog might miss a day or couple. Anyways, I will be loaded with stuff about country living. Stories about my sister's pet turkey. There will be no falcon pictures for a week, if the falcon hangs out in our area here. The description about the falcon says the bird is a migrating bird. More than likely, the bird has moved on to better hunting grounds. Dinner was leftover spaghetti and mom made a salad. I haven't dined on Dessert yet. Leftovers were pretty tasty. I always enjoy spaghetti whether it is fresh or leftover. I went to the movies earlier in the day and saw "Blind Side." I thought the movie was pretty good. I recommend it to my blog buddy Lew.

Friday went fast

Today was apple pie made with Agave sweetener and spaghetti. Mom and I dined on the main meal around lunch time. I had planned to go to the movies after lunch, but I was too stuffed and the clothes had to be hung on the clothes line. Mom and I did go to a computer training class in the evening , but we only stayed an hour. We both got tired and came home. We did get some of our questions answered, so it was worth the trip.

A Beacon of Justice

Real life heroes are hard to find, but in my old neighborhood where I spent the first fifteen years. One neighbor stands out as A Beacon of Justice. His name is Mr. Cardy and he is a volunteer for the Orange County Sheriff's Patrol. He has a broad territory to patrol and reports trouble ,so the real police can take care of the problem. Thanks to Mr. Cardy, the streets are a lot safer. He reports drug deals, fights, or whatever else doesn't seem right in the neighborhood. Mr. Cardy is retired and lost his eldest son five years ago to an accident involving a semi. His son was hit and killed by a semi in Indiana. However, Mr. Cardy has found his focus for himself and for the people in his neighborhood. He takes his volunteer work seriously. The irony of this hero is he use to be a rebel years ago, but with time he has emerged into a leader of good deeds.

Thanksgiving at Golden Corral

I for one would never believe my blogger buddy Lew would pass up Red Velvet Cake. He claims this is the best cake he had. He just loves this cake. There was a lot of this cake left uneaten. Lew in answer to your question about:" If Leon was there? " The answer is no he was not there. We were confined into a small conference room. The chairs were cramped. There was some new people on the scene. Elaine is leaving and is training her replacement Loretta to take over as Staff Assistant. The new girl working for Linda Kelly was sitting in the back. This is a picture of Charley waving. The food was real good. I had a little turkey, a chicken thigh, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing with gravy, macaroni with cheese, some peas on top of the mashed potatoes and a large yeast roll. I did not go for seconds or dessert. John was there and Tim, but no Bill Grimes. Also no Chuck and Jerry.

Birds of Feather

I got a picture of the Peregrine Falcon. It was on top of the Norfolk Pine tree in our front yard. It spent a little bit of time fixing the feathers and looking around. I don't know if this bird is a male or female. I only read the female birds are bigger than the male birds. Tonight for dinner,mom and I have Cod fish. I think it will be fried. I also did some grocery shopping and plan on going into Orlando tomorrow to attend a Thanksgiving party at Golden Corral. I like this picture, but I saw a couple of Egrets at Publix, I wished I could of taken a picture. It just did not work out that way.

Views of the ocean

I love the force of the waves crashing into the sand. It is like someone dumping a bucket of water and running out to get another. I like seeing the crystal splash of the water floating in the air. I wonder how much salt really lies in the ocean water? This is more action than most days when the ocean is calm as a lake. When the ocean is in one of it's calm moods, you don't see much bobbing of the boats up and down in the water. The reason I mention this is because the pictures I have taken is more interesting with some kind of action, like a bobbing boat. Dinner tonight was black beans and brown rice with some ham. Plus a salad and cut up onion on top of the black beans and brown rice. I also made tapioca with the small pearls. The package said I only had to soak the tapioca for a half an hour.

Monday on a roll

Dinner is a sandwich with lots of cheese. I also have pita chips and green tea to drink. I got to see the shuttle Atlantis blast off around 2:28 in the afternoon. It was a pretty launch and went pretty fast. Also, I watched the" Sarah Palin" interview on Oprah. She is a lively character. "Dancing with the stars" is on with the final four contestants. Tomorrow the one with the least score will be eliminated. I also heard there is a meteor shower overnight. This sounds like an interesting day.

Sunday is here

I saw the most unique show on TLC about making cakes. It was one of those reality shows called Cake Boss. The show starred Carlos and his team of Italian baker family. Carlos is the head Italian boss and his sister undermined what Carlos says and they get into family squabbles. His sister took his assistant away to do her chores, when Carlos wanted him to go get him some lunch. Carlos got his assistant back after a family squabble and life went back to normal. They made some of the most interesting cakes like a robot cake which actually moved by remote control. They made a cake for the military. They made a tie dye cake. Plus, a paint store cake. The bakers rolled the cake cover out like pizza dough and they make the cakes in like pizza ovens. After a couple of episodes, it was time to retire for the night. Tonight's dinner will be a pork roast. We have a couple of movies to watch from the library due back by Tuesday.

Thinking positive

Dinner tonight was cube steak with mashed potatoes and green giant casserole done in the microwave. Earlier today mom took me to the library to see a Florida book author. We got there kind of late and caught the tail end of the author's lecture. He had a display on the screen where there were dinosaur drawings, a deer with purple eyes, a monkey with green eyes and other odd things I can not remember. I thought it was weird. When I went up to get some hors d'oeuvres some lady made the comment " Wasn't that a good presentation?" I was caught off guard and answered "yes" quietly. Meantime, I was thinking that I would have nightmares reading this book. Even some kids would have nightmares. This is a peaceful sunset picture. It tucks me away for the evening ,so I can have a wonderful tomorrow.

Friday evening

The weather was so clear and blue today. It was ashamed to hear about the storm up in the New England area. The waves were as high as 19 feet according to the weathermen. They got the rain and we got the sunny weather. Mom and I went to the North end of the beach at the park on Flagler Avenue. The waves were big and impressive close to the shoreline. When I looked way out towards the horizon line the waves were not visible. The smell of the grilled hamburger at the breakers across the street was so overwhelming. Both mom and I were picturing us eating the hamburgers without actually having the hamburgers in our hands. We came home and had a tuna casserole. Both mom and I liked it, but it was not the hamburgers.

Grey sky

I guess I am in a flowering mood. The sky was grey today. It is pitch dark . There probably are no stars in the sky tonight. The weather would just have a cold damp feel that would make me feel better inside the house versus outdoors. Dinner today was leftover spaghetti mom made at lunch time. She threw away the marinara sauce and meatballs from yesterday. She said "she wouldn't even feed the meatballs to a dog." The spaghetti sauce today was the "Inspirations" I got from food lion. The tomato basil flavor taste very natural and I put oregano in it to tone down the tomato flavor. The weather is gradually going to get warmer by the weekend.

What is the weather doing?

The weather seems to be playing games. One minute it is sunny and the next the rain clouds are taking over. Both mom and I fell asleep during "Dancing with the stars" the result show. I had to find out who was eliminated last night from the Internet. I did see "Aaron Carter" who talked about his experience on the show. Aaron did not seem too upset about leaving the show. Tonight for dinner might be marinara meatballs with a little sauce poured over some spaghetti. This is a rose growing in our yard. I saw a black and yellow butterfly on a red magnolia plant, but I knew I could not make it back outside in time to take a picture. It would have made a nice picture.

Admiring the sunset

Dinner was homemade chicken noodle soup. Mom and I got a little mini dinner from Publix from Apron. It was a sample baked spaghetti with a little buttery bread and a little salad sample. It was pretty tasty. Mom and I also missed the swearing in ceremony of the mayor. It was after dark and we both wanted to settle in for the evening. The council was suppose to vote on a hotel going in on Flagler Avenue. I have a feeling that it will. Here is another sunset picture that you can admire the reflection on the water and the dimming white light. Also the soft glowing light in the clouds.

Monday night at home

This was a fish night. Mom cooked wild salmon and I microwaved a sweet potato and a white potato. We split both potatoes between the two of us. This is a nice picture to get you prepared for two days of rainy weather starting tomorrow. The rain will be help keep the grass green. The St. Johns River Management has said during the week" we can only water one day a week." There is no way our yard and other yards can maintain a green look. The yard usually gets brown spots when it isn't watered. It isn't fair we should only water one day a week when St. Johns River Management sells our water to "Niagara" watering company who ships the water across the country.

Sunday evening

Dinner was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and salad. I plan on making tapioca later. I went with mom to take sunset pictures behind the old Winn Dixie building. There were two mini-vans with a young African-American family. The kids were running around doing there thing like jumping on some tires and throwing a basketball next to an old building. The music was blaring with rhythm and blues street music regarding street life. There was a little bit of adjustment with mom and I trying to get use to the music, but it grew on us after awhile. The young boys were dancing to the music. There was a young baby boy in a car seat that rocked. The boy's name was Aaron and he could rock himself in the car seat. I saw the biggest grin on his face when he rocked himself. The parents were absorbed in fishing. The mother was down at the far end and the dad was next to the little boy Aaron. The dad knew what kind of fish could be caught and which to toss back. I was looking for the red and gold in the sunset, but it never came. Mom and I stopped by CVS on the way home. I picked up some extra batteries. When we came home on went the television and the day was gone.

Saturday in New Smyrna Beach

The weather was windy today. There was a mixture of sun, blue sky and clouds. The only place I traveled today was Food Lion. Food Lion had a special on Holly Farms cut up chicken, 79 cents a pound. I bought some liquid Tide detergent for washing clothes. Dinner this evening was chili with some buttermilk biscuits. Tomorrow will be chicken. I am not sure if the chicken will be fried or baked or made into soup. I always like chicken and noodle soup that is homemade. The picture is two white sailboats that joined two more traveling between New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet. The waves were really rocking. I would think you would need a lot of sea sick medicine to last on the open water.

Remembering Sonny's in Orlando

Lunch today was at Dustin's down in Edgewater. It is similar to "Sonny's", but not as good as the Pine Hills " Sonny's" that no longer is in business. I remember riding to Orlando the last time mom and I went to the dentist office and passing the" Sonny's " which still had the sign saying something like "Proud to serve the community the past 25 years." which almost makes me want to cry. When there is a top notch business it should be a shining example to the community and treasured and encouraged to continue. Pine Hills deserves a top notch restaurant like Sonny's barbeque. It does have Red Lobster, but I don't know for how long.

Trying something new

My first attempt at making lasagna wasn't flawless. The top layer dried out and turned a little brown around the edges. Mom and I ended up throwing out the top layer. I should have put a tomato sauce on top, but I didn't. The rest of the lasagna was very good. I layered noodles with hamburger mixed with cut up onions , green peppers and mushrooms. Ricotta cheese went on top of the hamburger mixture followed by diced tomatoes. I shared some of it with my neighbor Laurel. The lasagna served us both for lunch and dinner. I considered myself a spaghetti cooking person. This is a bold move for me to try something new. I did one time make Chicken Cacciatore and it turned out pretty good.

Today's events

The clouds finally cleared out so I could get some pictures of white sailboats and more shrimp boats. I got a compliment from the mail lady "Eileen." I gave her a picture of the eagle I took with my camera awhile back. She found a silver frame for it at the dollar store. She told me she enjoyed the picture very much. Dinner was soup and salad and I made minute tapioca. I also bought small pearl tapioca from the health food store. I also like getting their avocado chips. These chips are very tasty. The present mayor lost the election and is being replace by a guy named "Adam Barringer." For the short time I got to know our present mayor "Sally Mackay", I already know I will miss her.

Michael Jackson movie review

Today stayed mostly cloudy. The sun did try to peak through earlier in the day. I was almost wanting to see the sun, but when it really started coming out the heat started to return. The coolness is maintained by the cool grey cover of the clouds. The wind has been generated from the Northeast. The big highlight of the day mom and I finally got to see the "Michael Jackson" movie. Mom and the present Mayor Sally Mackay said the movie would be sad. However, the only main sad part were the dancers goals and hopes which they dedicated it all to "Michael Jackson." The movie was high energy songs and dance which Michael was well known. He seemed very alive throughout the movie. The movie did seem a bit long and there were a few things like when Michael kicked his feet up in the air as part of the show which didn't seem to add flavor to the movie. I thought the movie was a real nice dedication to "The King of Pop." The movie showed off Michael's musical rhythm. He was showing the rest of his cast how he wanted the show to be performed. The cast followed and was very obedient to structure the music and dance to the way "Michael Jackson" liked it.

Gray Monday

Today has been gray all day long. It did rain a little bit during the day. Dinner tonight was salmon patties and okra. I am thinking about making tapioca pudding. Tomorrow is suppose to be the last day the "Michael Jackson" movie will be playing at our "Beacon theater" in New Smyrna Beach. I think mom and I will try to go see the movie. I have been released from running my neighbor around to doctor's appointments. Her son came by this morning and was taking over the rest of the week. I like this red shrimp boat picture. I was at the North entrance on Flagler Avenue. This shrimp boat posed right in front of me. I snapped as many pictures as I could. Somehow, I think I have drowned all my Internet buddies full of shrimp boat pictures. I still think these shrimp boats can be as graceful and glamorous as a beauty contestant.

Movie review of Amelia

Mom and I went to see the movie " Amelia." The stars were Hillary Swank as Amelia and Richard Gere as George Palmer Putnam (Amelia's husband) . The story tend to drag. Lots of talk which got old and the story didn't build. The story did show how shaky the planes were riding in the back. It was kind of interesting how they passed notes back and forth by a running line almost like a clothes line. The notes got past to the front of the plane and back to the back. I think the story could have been compacted more , so it would hold my interest. I should have been on the edge of my seat to the end of the movie, but I wasn't. It drained me of running out to buy another movie ticket anytime soon. Tonight dinner will be a chuck roast with carrots and potatoes. Plus, some good television to finish the evening.