high tide . . .

means being able to paddle among the mangroves.  at low tide it is oyster bed city.  so robin, julie and i rented kayaks and headed off across the inter coastal to the islands . . .  so nice!!!  it didn't hurt that robin brought fresh fruit in little cups, with yogurt and coconut. slurp!!!!  sweet treat.  here's julie with her bright pink hat.  the funny thing is that i have the same hat in sensible brown.  i like julie's version much better.

 and my oversized feet holding on for dear life:

the three of us paddling around in circles:

and again:

robin, our fearless leader:

julie with her snack:

 why yes, that's me with my bozo fringe hanging out:

there are supposed to be thunder storms this afternoon but all we got were a few seconds of sprinkles.

we had a ball.  except maybe getting out of the kayak and losing my balance and heading toward total disaster but saved at the last second.  this is why i brought an extra change of clothes.  LOL.

so much stinkin' fun!!!!

my nose just can't . . .

stay out of a book lately, so my days are rather upside down.  i read until 2 a.m. and wake around 11:00 a.m.  some are fairy good books:  The Boo and The Water is Wide by Conroy because i love low country tales and Anne Rivers Siddon needs to write faster.   Then some sloppy romances because everyone needs a little twinkle in their lady parts.  mostly i find an author and plunge though their entire repertoire.  so goes james patterson, janet evanovich, sue grafton, nicholas sparks, stuart woods, robyn carr, agatha christie, and even henry james and thomas hardy.

i remember my father complaining to my mother as a kid that i read too many comic books, my mother's reply was, 'at least i was reading'.  yay mom.  and then there was the day i started to read one of her books sitting on the table next to her chair.  she asked what i was reading, i told her.  she asked me to tell her the story.  next thing i know, i was in the car and on the way to the children's section of the library . . .

"reading is fundamental" try it, you'll like it.

this is so me . . .

and, chalk another one up for me.  the fire alarm in the kitchen died.  not just dead battery dead, but dead-dead.  this of course made me happy when cooking something a little too long but for overall safety, not so much.

found a new one in the laundry cabinet, pulled up a chair and did my thing.  yay me!!!!  now if the house burns down, we'll hear about it.  note:  do not be holding one very small cat in your arms when the alarm is being tested.

why yes . . .

i think i'll just nail a boot to the tree in my front yard and call it a bird house:

and i'll nail a sneaker into a second tree.  but then again, i support trump, so it's not strange at all. these are the things that keep joanie and i entertained on our morning walks.

Happy . . .

Bunny Day to one and all!!!!

another day . . .

on my fifth load of laundry with more to come.  and little spots of rust are showing up on clothes.  the time has come, the walrus said, to break down and buy a new washing machine.  i joined consumer report's web version so i can read their reviews.  so far i've decided on a HE top loader.  what brand is next to ponder.  my current one had very high reviews.  apparently rust is a + when buying a maytag.

fried eggplant sammie stuffed with sauteed zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, mushrooms, onions and garlic, topped with grated parmesan and balsamic reduction.  bless t.j's heart, she tried it.  kidlet brought home chicken fingers.  lol.

gone to the dogs . . .

the hens met at lulu's for lunch today and the weather was perfect enough to eat on the patio.  the dog friendly patio.

there was a service dog luncheon.  three standard poodles, one miniature poodle, a collie and two canines of unidentified heritage.  they were there with their mama's and were very well behaved.

then came the freshly shorn pomeranian. the little guy sat peacefully in his father's lap the entire meal, but as lee pointed out, his little head followed every single bite that popped into dad's mouth with great eyes of fascination.

and last but not least, the baby something something.  he looked to be part shepherd but too cute for words.  he bounced around from lap to lap and between everyone's legs.  such a cutie.

i like hanging around with the dogs.  life is better that way.

a little gremlin . . .

named t.j. came over and helped kidlet clean up her nest.  thank you, t.j!!!!!

and i cleaned the bigger nest.  we made dents but we have more to go.

lots to donate. 

lots to be thankful for.

i am exhausted.  going to skip yoga and sleep in before lunch with the hens.

namaste.

thanks to joanie for sharing . . .

i love this.

still playing around . . .

while the house gets furrier and furrier:

i stole these shots from my friend, carla, of her husband, shane.  they went on a kayaking adventure this weekend.  i'm apparently into stealing people's photos lately . . . but with their permission.

and then i found this. a dead ringer for bear:

he's been waiting five, almost six years to tell me that!!!!

got gels . . .

to match my car!!!!

bahahaha!!!!!

did some damage at the sale at the Loft. 

tomorrow i get my hair trimmed.

happy me.

try and make a dent in the dust day . . .

laundry is running.

things are finding their way back to their homes.

dust rags are zigzagging.

the vacuum is puttering about.

and i am playing with a photo i stole from lee:

dishes are getting done

counter tops are getting clean.

pork chops with apples and gravy with garlic mashed taters and fresh green beans that didn't get made last night.

a little walk . . .

a little yoga.

great yoga.  an old instructor was back in town for a visit and taught a self massage and restorative yin class.  oh my.  my aching bones feel wonderful.  it's called being yoga stoned and it feels so good.  amazing the things you can do with a tennis ball and a sock, getting at muscles where they live.  i got in my car and just wanted to sit there for the rest of my life.

namaste.

hen day . . .

my fault.  i wanted a greek salad from one of our local restaurants.  either they have a new chef or it was a really bad day in the kitchen.  my poor salad was tasteless which is really hard when you're talking about feta cheese.  lee's meat was dry and cardboard like.  joanie's salad was missing the bread.  but being the hens, we had a great time . . . until the waitress told joanie she has a little something something on her butt.  bird poop.  you only sit on bird poop when you are wearing white pants.  it's true.

obligatory photo:

nope, that is not the bird poop between joanie's legs.  thats a fresh plant.

and les, you got that right!!!!!

the things i do . . .

i signed up for an on-line dating site.  yes i did, she said rolling her eyes.  i'm not looking for love in all the wrong places, i'm looking for someone nice to hang out with. 

note:     ways to catch a scammer:

• Quickly asks to talk or chat on an outside email or messaging service
• Vanishes mysteriously from the site, then reappears under a different name
• Talks about "destiny" or "fate"
• Claims to be recently widowed
• Asks for your address under the guise of sending flowers or gifts
• Makes an inordinate amount of grammar and/or spelling errors
• Claims to be from U.S. but currently traveling, living or working abroad
• Ever asks you for money

dude #1

says he's italian, as in lives in italy.  his "name" is "freeloveOMFG".  you can't make this stuff up.  i tell him i'm sure he's very nice but i am looking for someone local.  he reappears and now he lives in NY but a lot of people don't care for him because he is connected.  truly.  eek!!!  again with my local line since now he has broken tip numbers 1, 2, 6, and 7.  a couple of hours later, i go to reread the bio of this mess and he has been pulled by the on-line protection service.  things are starting out well.

dude #2

this one is a killer.  his bio reads that he is a 100% disabled vet.  so respond to his hello and we chat until he tells me he is stationed in afghanistan . . . this site is, by the way, for seniors.  so i call him on this little indiscretion and he disconnects.  so now i know i have made a major boo boo into this adventure but in truth, i am laughing so hard at the absurdity of the stories that i decide this is the best fun i've had for $30 in a long, long time.

not to mention that american express absolutely refused to let me use their card on this site and sent alerts to my email, phone and cell.  mastercard let me pay but then sent both phone and email alerts.  think i should have listened?

so here's the deal.  would you say hello to this person?

A little about me...

"Seriously, no pressure"? Tell you about me? Oh Lordy, I'm seriously going to hide under the bed until this idea passes. OK, I'm bright, a little off center, tall . . . as in almost 5"9". Not what you wanted to hear? My husband passed away four years ago and I miss being with someone, so I'm looking for a friend. Emphasis on friend. This is all new to me so I'm going to fasten my seat belt and see what happens. Want to go along for the ride? 

 

About the one I'm looking for...

Look, I'm honest, I want you to be too. I also want you to be: trustworthy. loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Hey, if it's good enough for the boy scouts, who am I to object? I think you get the idea.

seems it got lots of responses from dudes who want to tell me to remove the "obedient" clause.   where is their sense of humor?

so mostly i spend the evening sending responses saying, 'you look like a nice guy but i am looking for someone a little closer to home.'  that works fine until dude #3 tells me his willing to move.  gah.

dude #968 actually gets a chuckle from my bio.  wants to meet for breakfast the following day at a local place of good repute.  he's a seemingly nice 75 year old, so how bad can this be?  he actually turned out to be a very nice guy and we had a two and a half hour breakfast.  did he set my heart afire.  nope.  would it bother me if i never set eyes on him again?  nope.  but he filled-in an almost three hour gap that turned out to be very pleasant.

i can see the 9TS rolling his eyes at me and getting ready to throw thunderbolts. 

p.s. a storm front came through this afternoon with great pounding rain and boomers.  i love you too my dear sloth.  just lonesome.

oops . . .

too embarrassed to tell you what i did today.  maybe tomorrow.

with a sudden burst of energy . . .

i got back in my car and headed to the gas station to tank up . . . something i do about every six weeks or so.  i don't go far and my little car gets good gas mileage but it still gets thirsty.  and then to the bank because i didn't have enough funds for lunch and ended up putting it on a credit card.  and then to the post office to mail a couple of tee shirts to a friend in california.  and then to target for paper towels, shampoo, light bulbs, packing tape, a meat tenderizer, some tongs and a new can opener.  my old one died of rust instead of just breaking into bits. and then to the foam shop for a 33"x13"x3" piece of foam to replace the worn out bench seat at the end of my bed.  and then home to change light bulbs, find out what i was missing on the net, and watch another episode of Lie to Me, and then and then, i calmed down and . . .

i really hope i am still a slug when i wake up in the morning.

success . . .

three cheese chicken roll-ups.  very tasty.  a definite do-again.

of course i realized i didn't have any marinara so i made a fresh batch, simmered for three hours.

and then made the stuffing with sautéed spinach and garlic, parmesan and ricotta cheeses:

and then i pounded the poor chicken to death:

stuffed it, dipped it in eggs and breadcrumbs and stuck it in the oven.  after 25 minutes i took it out, added the mozzarella cheese and marinara and stuck it back into the oven for another five minutes.  topped it with chopped fresh basil and we were in business:

good stuff.

color me fat and happy!!!!

lucky me . . .

nancie rowe-janitz is coming out with her march 2016 multimedia kit on friday, which means we got to play with it today.  i love this coloring page.

particularly when i discovered it could do this:

finally, a digital coloring page.  unlimited choices.  color me flippin' happier than a squirrel with a mouthful of nuts!!!!

nuff said . . .

the hens and their food . . .

ate breakfast this morning rather than lunch yesterday.  it was a strategic move to avoid motorcycles of all shapes and sizes.  we ate at la's.  first time i've been there for breakfast but not the last.  and first time joanie and lee had been to the new location.  yummo.

and since i started an attempt to shed some pounds before we get in our rubber tubes and paddle around the adriatic, i decided it was time to make this week's grocery list.  lots of new goodies to try:

herbed pork chops with apples and onions.

three cheese chicken stuffed with spinach, parmesan and ricotta and topped with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella and a drizzle of fresh basil.  slurp.

baked salmon with a soy sauce/limeade marinade

a thinner version of chicken marsala

and of course this week we have to have some corned beef and cabbage.

now i know none of these things sound particularly slimming but since it will be portion controlled and the rest of my intake will be wholesome enough to produce a gerber's baby, it will work.

i love food.  slurp!!!

goodbye to old friends . . .

joanie and i have been back to our morning walks for almost a year now.  we've found shady lanes and friendly folks in the manufactured home subdivision just south of us.  we've met all the dogs and their families, say hello to the grumpy old man, who always says "lousy" when we ask him how he's doing.  i've been feeding george cat treats and he finally lets me pet him.  (george, a regular old brown tabby, has a sad story.  his people mom passed away and his people dad kicked him out of the house.  a couple of the neighbors feed him and one keeps a cat igloo in her car port for him during inclement weather.  poor george.  he was so skittery when we first met him.  can't blame him.  but he was coming around and instead of hissing at me, he would let me stroke the length of his body while he noshed on the contents of my pocket.) and louie. now louie was a ray of sunshine.  at first we thought his perky little body was ready to do us damage and gave him a wide berth.  come to find out, we couldn't have been more wrong.  louie is a prince of pups.  king of canines.  duke of dogdom.  if ever i decided i needed another dog in my life, it would be louie.

in short, we made ourselves to home.  we'd wave and kibitz with richard the gate guard.  we owned the joint.  until . . . last monday when a member of the hoa board hot footed it over to us and told us how they pay lots of money to live in a secure neighborhood and that we were interlopers.  out.  out.  out.  and so, on wednesday, a very apologetic richard met us with sad eyes and told us we were forevermore banned.  no goodbyes to louie, or george or maxwell or howard the dog and his buddy iris rose.  no more grumpy man or the lady from atlanta who walked her dogs separately because they were exact opposites in temperament.  cut to the bone.  ouch!

joanie's dad suggested we try central park.  a series of lakes and walkways provided by the city.  we have to get in the car but it's shady and woody and full of dogs and their people. 

 

 

who could ask for anything more????? 

goodbye louie.  goodbye george.  i hope you have swell lives.

just a whittling the day away . . .

being totally non-productive.  so much needs to be done and lots of time in which to do it.  still nada.  the only thing i did successfully was to wrench my back . . . klutz that i am.

and count the number of pants that need to be ironed and donate those that i know i will never wear again, so i don't have to iron them.  yep, i am that person.

and then my nose got stuck in a book.  and in photoshop.  and in the refrigerator. 

i am a time whittler.

a day for catching up . . .

i attended boarding school from september of 1963 through june of 1967, after my mother died.  it always felt to me as if we raised each other. but that was just the supposition of a fourteen year old.  i also wondered exactly why we were all there.  what were our stories.

a month or so ago i started hunting the other boarders down and managed to find quite a few.  we now have a private group on facebook.  today, i finally asked for their take on my supposition,  i did not ask for the stories per se.  the responses were heart breaking in their honesty and the depth of emotion still simmering fifty years later . . . the stories were released, one by one, driven by loneliness, pain and rejection.  the words that struck home with the sharpest of arrows was that it was, " . . . a version of foster placement".  

but then the conversation turned a corner and the general consensus was that the strength born out of that chaos created a group of fierce warrior women who found strength and courage from those ashes and became who they were meant to be . . . .

i found this and cleaned it up as much as possible.  i love the girls we were:

sometimes simple is better . . .

love these little girls.

vroom. vroom. vroom.

i dragged joanie along with me, down us1 to find some commemorative tee shirts from the 75th bike week.  they were supposed to be a gift for a friend but somehow, one popped in the bag for me too.  it wasn't too bad as we got there as soon as we could after our walk. most of the biker were still snoozing away but as we reached home after a couple of sidetracks, they were in full abundance.  i am staying off the street for the previously mentioned reasons.

we had a good time at the iron horse saloon and wild bill's.  drinks were free if you took your top off.  bahahahaha!!!!

oh and i finished this yesterday of a baby 9TS!!!'

so much fun playing with photoshop!

and a little greek salad for lunch:

and these two, pippin and ninja, on the window sill without punching each other's lights out. will wonders never cease.

another good day in paradise.

a couple of things from yesterday . . .

i was shocked at the size of the "rocks" i found in my aerator filter.  much bigger than grains of sand.   do i really want to know what is floating around in our drinking water? (this from a kid who used to drink from brooks, chop holes in the ice on the lake with her skate blade and drink from the water . . . just saying . . . ) they looked like kidney stones.  and i have an admission.  when i tried to get the aerator off the faucet, i may have been twisting it the wrong way and damaged the roundness of its little body.  sprinkling jets of water were flying all over.  so i might have had to go to ace today to get a $3.99 replacement.  much better than a plumber would charge so i am still happy, happy.

the ribs?  they were soooo bad i may never eat a rib again.  good thing i love shrimp.  the ribs were greasy and nauseating.  i finally peered at kidlet and she agreed.  no more ribs from this woman.  bleck!

the mailbox this morning was crammed with friday and saturday's mail.  two boxes from amazon and a bunch of junk.  the boxes were entertaining.  a bottle of retayne so i can try and stop the bleeding from my wine colored jacket and three jars of "out of bed texturizer".  don't ask.

it is another stunning day in paradise and the roar of motorcycles has permeated the air.  it is the 75th anniversary of daytona beach bike week.  i sort of wish they would keep the metal monsters down there but they creep this way and zoom their little hearts out, scaring the bejeezers out of old farts like me, who are afraid we are going to smoosh one to little pieces.  (again, from the kid who rode bikes all through college and came down south for bike week and forgot to leave, 42 years ago . . .)

happy.  happy.

YouTube to the rescue . . .

the drain in my bathroom sink has been running slowly.  in fact, it has kind of come to a complete halt.  the water finally disappears but well, it is a disaster.  so i did what i always do.  i used Drain-o.  worked like a charm in kidlet's bathroom but no so much for mine.

so i popped on YouTube and found a video that sort of resembled my sink.  i unscrewed the collars around the pea drain.  or is that pee drain.  and o.m.g.  it was disgusting.  good thing i had gloves on.  if you are squeamish, don't peek at the photos:

i may never eat pea soup again.

unfortunately, my sink wasn't exactly the same model as the video version so i was afraid to undo the collar up right under the sink.  below it were the gizmos which control the sink stopper and i was scared to mess with them.  so i just put things back the way i found them . . . sort of.

and now the water drains again.  not as well as i would wish but betterer.  much betterer.  now i am just waiting to make sure nothing is leaking before i put all the under-the-sink junk back it there.

and downstairs, there are ribs in the crockpot, but i prefer not to think about that until the visions of my drain leave my brain.

it's always a good day when i learn something new.  yay, me!!
                                                                 ************
o.m.g. could i be on a roll???

next i followed youTube again to attack the flow restricter.  after having my faucet professionally replaced last year, the flow has been minimal.  as in no more washing delicates in the sink because it would take the better part of a month.

i did it.  the video used a drill and i used a hammer and nail but it worked!!!!  and yes, i may have cracked the flow restricter a tiny bit but i am unashamed and my elbow hurts from patting myself on the back.

it is a very good day indeed.

let's just say i have issues . . .

with shrimp!  good issues.  amazing issues.  simply put, i adore shrimp.  and so when the hens plus one rolled up to snack jack's in flagler, i had to have shrimp.  a glorious 1/2 pound of spiced shrimp:

doesn't look like quite a 1/2 pound?  i got so excited with my issues, i forgot to take a shot before i was elbow deep into the slurpiness. 

joanie opted for a salmon sammie with a side of slaw and pups.  that big old salmon was falling out the sides.  but again, i was too entralled with my shrimps.

and lee was into wings and clam chowder.  no one told her you don't go to a fish dive and eat wings.  sigh.  sometimes she hard to rein in.  like always.

and doug, lee's son and our plus one, was happy snoffing down a fried oyster po' boy and a side of you guessed it!!!  shrimp!!! is that a happy man or what?

lawdie, lawdie, i loves me some good food.

full of shrimp and a beer, i crashed when i got home. but not before i pre-made my dinner since kidlet would not be home.  and what did i make??????

yup, shrimp salad with dill and celery.  i think i died and went to heaven.

it was a very good day.

food glorious food . . .

went grocery shopping this morning and got lots of goodies for dinners.  kidlet and i don't always agree on what's delicious and what is not and more and more often, she is grabbing dinner with work mates.  this leaves the door wide open for me to get back to veggies, fish and some good ol pork.

but first, my craving for fried eggplant with marinated basil and garlic goat cheese has not abated so while kidlet is teaching a class tonight, i will be noshing my heart out.

and then i found a new recipe for salmon.  i love salmon and i have a great recipe but it calls for grilling and truthfully, i have not tried it since the 9TS was in charge.  being able to do it in the oven is good stuff.

and then baby back ribs in a crock pot!   i have to try these.

and shrimp salad with dill.  omg.  sorry, have to hurry off for food.

my kitchen floor is so shiny . . .

too bad it's not in a good way.  seems somehow olive oil got dripped on the kitchen and living room floors and then got stepped in and smurched all over.  so while getting up the energy to do something permanent about it, i decided to play instead, this one was done with products from Anna Aspnes:

and this one with products by Nancie Rowe-Janitz:

they were both fun to play with but still not as much fun as we had in the chair.

and today, before the massive clean up, i did a bunch of odd chores like, shortening the length of a new necklace and gluing a bra back together.  you read that right.  well, what's a gal to do when they stop making my favorite bras . . .

but i already knew this . . .

sue passed this goodie on to me.  i passed it on to ninja.  she took one look and rolled her eyes at me.