too cool . . .

we had a visitor last night and i'm still trying to figure out how he got here.  we took down the tree his relatives used to gain access to a lower roof and then the pool cage.  maybe he has super powers of flight.  maybe its Rocky Raccoon in our very own back yard!!!!

kidlet got bored.  when i returned home from our camera club meeting, she showed me some shots she'd taken.

and this is what you get when you decide to sail a flotilla of paper boats across the pool at night with the underwater lights on.  too cool!!!!!

changes . . .

i wish i could say i was back but a general malaise seems to have dropped over me and the things i used to get the most enjoyment from are no longer tickling my fancy.  not a big deal, my mojo will come back.  it just took a walk somewhere.

so instead, i'm going to tell tales on my favorite munchkin . . . kidlet.  she'd been doing so much better.  the world is finally looking a little rosy.  finally she understands that some of her feelings are exactly as they should be.  that they are normal feelings and not manifestations of depression.  point in case, we took my granddaughter to Tampa two weekends ago to the USF open house.  After attending presentations, seminars and doing a campus tour but before heading for Five Guys for some mega fries, i drove over to the northwest corner of the campus and said a final goodbye/prayer to Moffitt.

it didn't take long and we were all soon munching happily and popping peanuts in our chubby little cheeks.  suddenly, i noticed that kidlet was being awfully quiet and when she asked for the keys to the car, i let her go.  when the rest of us finished lunch, we headed to the car and there she was with huge gulping sobs racking her tiny frame.  hooray for kidlet!  does that sound odd?  shouldn't.  this was the very first time that she had an appropriate response to a overwhelming emotion.  she didn't try to suppress it.  she didn't shirk from it, she let it flow.  good healthy tears for her dad.  kidlet, you rock!!!!

and she's still doing well in the kitchen.  she made Friday's beef stew from start to finish. before when we've cooked together, she's always handed the chopping to me.  with her familial tremor, she and knives are not always the best combo but this time she forged on while i went on the pool deck to let pip play for a bit.  when i wandered back in, there she was, tears streaming down her face.  rut roh, what now?  but she looked me squarely in the eyes, and asked if THIS was a normal reaction to cutting onions.  i burst into laughter.  yes, kidlet, perfectly normal. you are now a cook!!!!  it's the small victories that taste the sweetest.

tonight, she was supposed to have her regular tuesday swordfish but instead, she had a Relay for Life meeting.  yup, she is back volunteering for them . . . another fine blessing.  tired of swordfish, i had made a big mess of chili.  when she returned home it was too late to grill.  but surprisingly, she asked for some chili.  i guess here is where i explain that kidlet is not fond of beans.  or peas.  or lentils.  actually, i was surprised she asked for the chili at all.  but then i watched her grab a small ramekin from a cabinet and just knew what she was going to use it for.  somethings in life never change.

until next time . . .

we're having company for dinner tomorrow night which in and of itself, is no big deal and will be lots of fun, but then my miserable housekeeping skills come back to bite me in the bottom and i panic at the thought of  the dust bunnies dancing across the floors, strewn cat litter in every corner, paw prints on wood surfaces and nose prints on windows.  i need to shave those little guys and make them wear little flannel booties.

today is cleaning day.  the dining room is done.  i had to empty the canister.  the living room is done.  i had to empty the canister.  the hall just needs to be mopped but i still had to empty the canister.  my Dyson animal is one hard working beast . . . at least when i remember to use it.

the gravy is simmering away on the stove.  there was just one little accident while transferring the chopped onions to the hot oil . . . some of the onions wiggled loose and went swimming in the water boiling for tea.  i have a feeling this batch of iced tea may not be my best even if kidlet and i did fish them out . . . eventually.

yesterday, the pool deck got bleached.  the furniture needs scrubbing too but that can wait.  one step at a time.

and so by tomorrow, we will be in some semblance of order when our guest arrive.  and then.  i can forget all about cleaning until next time.

lousy vid. great eyes . . .

yep, that's Pippin.

why this house lacks pc-ness and sanity . . .

i was reading a piece today that referenced both yogis and yoginis.  never having heard the word yogini before, i looked it up:  a woman who practices yoga.  so there i am repeatedly hitting the pronunciation sound chip when kidlet comes up the stairs and asks what the heck i am doing.

so i told her i am a yogini.  she looks at me and says:  "Yo Guinea! Whazup?"  snort!
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this morning i got bathed, dressed in my yoga gear, got in the car, drove across the cul-de-sac and sat in Joanie's drive way at 9:30 to pick her up for class.  i waited.  i filed my nails.  i wondered why she was taking so long.  i looked at the clock.  and then i realized our new class didn't start until 11:00.  i zipped out of her driveway and into my garage and laughed myself silly.

things 1 thru 4 . . .

do you have any idea how hard it is to try and dry off a grill while the sky is still weeping copious amounts of rain?

hard.  as in never ending.  until the tears stop.

thankfully, kidlet, who has turned into a damned fine grill master, managed to flip the burgers onto their plate and hi-tail it into the kitchen before the heavens opened but the grill was still too hot to put its cover on unless i wanted it melted to the grill like the cheese melted to the plate before it could make it on the burger.  true story.

so finally it let up enough for me to sort of swish it dry and get it covered.  i am waging a war against rust.  i will win.
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it is not a good idea to wash your polyester yoga pants in the same load with a no-sew fleece blanket that the cats had stolen for their own.  my pants are now furrier than the cats.
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true proof that I am not a sociopath.
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this is what happens when you see a monkey suit in Target:

kidlet will be warm this winter.

never relax your facial muscles . . .

so you know all the old jokes about aging . . .  your boobs end up in your lap [or they would if you had any] and your bum is somewhere around the back of your knees?

pfffft!

i was in yoga class this morning and we were doing downward facing dogs.  no problem.  and then the instructor says, breathe.  i breathe.  she says, relax your facial muscles.  i relax my facial muscles.  and then i go blind.  what!!!!

why is it that no one told me that if you are over 64, and you're basically hanging upside down and you release your facial muscles, your jowls flop toward your eyebrows, forcing the pouches under your eyes into your lower eyelashes which obscures your vision.

true story.