Reduced to Blogging

For the second day we have been inundated with precipitation. The doggies just went for their probably only walk for the day. We walked to the Pet Supermarket and bought treats-Buddy picked out a bag of Peanut Butter treats that were evidently more intriguing at the store than here at home.  The pups are quite spoiled-I have been mixing up trips to the dog park in Pompano with our walks.  They love the dog park and are quite well-behaved and seem to be growing in socialization with dogs and humans.

With the kids in Texas, our routines are different-or I should say non-existent but that is OK too. I have been puttering around. The canopy on my "Fortress of Solitude" collapsed under the weight of rain so I improvised another with a canvas dropcloth ($29.00). There are so many bungy cords that I suspect if a big wind came just the right way, there would be a huge "SPROINGGGG" and the darn thing would be catapulted into the Atlantic Ocean. It is getting the acid test this weekend-so far, so good. Have also been gussying up a few things. Yard art, solar lights, Vines, repotting some plants.  Continuing to read and play Word with Friends with my Texas kids. We are addicted and it is reassuring for us all to know the others are alive and well and playing cut-throat games.

Med checkups this past week. According to my device, there have been no Cardiac incidents-this makes 14 months.  Dr Cohn's exhaustive tests indicate I am holding my own in other departments-he wants more in therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC he calls it, I call it torture.) But I will do my best.

I am excited to be having company! Denis and Ida from Casper are going to their niece's graduation in Bettendorf, I believe, then adding a leg to come to South Florida.

My cousin Russel and his wife and another couple have been doing Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Russ is a great camera man with a good sense of humor so I have been getting travelogues on the web.  Likewise with Nicole and Andre traveling the west. The other Andre and Nicole are back in Montreal and shivering. 

Life is good.

Happy Easter Eggs

Drat-my whole narrative vanished into thin air.  Check back later.

O.K. I have sulked for a week. That is long enough. Now we will see what I can remember without the aid of notes. Juneau and Buddy on their last day together for awhile (below). Jason and Juneau loaded into the BMW and headed for Texas to Join Lori who flew on the 3rd. Jason will come for a visit in mid- June-he has organized a trip to Bimini in the boat with his brother and some friends. I am hopeful of catching a glimpse of Matt. The J's arrived in Texas after two days-the sort of trip I get scolded for. Jason puts the pedal to the metal and stays in dog-friendly La Quinta's. I drive the limit and stay in Flying J parking lots.

 

Jason's last days here were busy, busy. He decided to give up his consultancy with Campus Management so he is no longer working the phones, etc. He was feted by his colleagues and management. They wrote messages on a shirt-some heartfelt, some funny, some touching. He was pleased with the party and the gift.  He also was readying the Boca property for sale. He had really good renters who got transferred so he cleaned, powerwashed, painted, re-did hardware and carpet in a mad dash. The powerwasher tried to commit suicide by vibrating into the pool. I think it is fixable but I am not sure. He squeezed in a few lunches and dinners with his closer friends and we went  to lunch at a new place in Pompano.  I am missing them all.

 

Where we had lunch - Bonefish Mac's. Yummy Fish and Chips. Jason had the start of a beard going. I wonder if it will prosper.

 

Lori hit the ground running in Texas. She had 16 for  Easter-mostly family and a carry-in for food. She said they had a ball.  She was able to see nephew Casey advance to regionals in Track.

My nephew Justin is at large with permission to be so. He is still muddled about some things. The rehab facility had certain milestones in his brain injury recovery plan. Among them:  fixing a meal from scratch, and cleaning self and surroundings-the activities of daily living. The way he sees it is the staff was lazy and he had to do everything to run the place. Bless his heart and  Rich and families-they do not have an easy path for months ahead. Niece Alicia has a home of her own in Casper now and for Junior, her St. Bernard. Speaking of St. Bernards there was one and a black Newfoundland at the Dog Park in Pompano. The Newfie, four months old, thought Miss Honey was quite fetching. She did quite well at refusing his advances without ripping his throat out.  She was a lady.

It has been "fleet week" here in the compound. Vehicle maintenance. I stopped in at Advance Auto Parts, which is restored after it burned. I wanted to price deep cycle batteries for the RV to replace the very weak old ones. I lucked into a sale-$69.00 apiece as opposed to about $100 minimum per copy. So I did that. Washed the van-I didn't really think it was dirty-but it was. Did it in a light rain as I am wont to do-Mother nature helps with the rinse.

But enough about me- How about you?

Testing picture uploads

 

Springtime in the Tropics



Things are starting to pop-get lush



"Slight chance of showers" became 2 inches of rain.

 The kids brought filets and trimmings from the Fresh Market Friday and we broke bread here, Mighty fine food. The occasion was part of Lori's long goodbye as she prepared to depart for Amarillo/Pampa, TX. She revels in being with her family and they have an ambitious social calendar this year. She departed today and got stopped in Dallas. They had tornadoes there and made everybody disembark and hide behind a brick wall. The storms also had hail and some 250 airplanes have to be inspected: they said leaving on Thursday was probable but chancy. Jason got on the web here and found a Southwest flight  to Amarillo that will get in at 10 p.m. tonight but it was departing from a town 30 miles away. So Lori took a cab!

As evidenced above, I took the weather forecast as gospel Saturday and spent half a day watering shrubs and trees. Then in the afternoon it rained buckets. We got our walks in after one false start. We are ranging farther and wider- pretty much 2 miles a day.  We go at a good clip but of course have rest stops.

I enjoyed the NCAA championships. Some great basketball and athletes.  The CMA's are not my first love but I enjoyed them too- Good music is good music. The PBS stations down here are having pledge drives and I really enjoy those music shows too- O.F. nostalgia time.

Somehow I developed a carbuncle on my shoulder blade. A carbuncle is a cluster of boils. Not being able to see it and thinking it was a common zit, I gave it a squeeze. Big mistake. As my doctor is celebrating Passover in Israel I went digging in the old medicine cabinet because I was feeling crummy, and had aches wherever my poor body had experienced an insult over the past 60 years. I have kept complications at bay but I am going on ten days and my shoulder is still sore-other places not so much. That is probably too much information!

Apparently son Matt received the "Top Student " Award at his month-long stint at Oregon State Law Enforcement Academy.One of his classmates congratulated him on Facebook. Otherwise I would still be in the dark. He tends to "hide his light under a bushel." I do check his Facebook page often because he is either thought provoking or hilarious.  His friends are half-witty too.

I am also enjoying the birds-evidently water and feeder say "Welcome."  Buddy gets annoyed at the blackbirds and chases them away. The Mourning and Ringneck Doves are unmolested and fat-walking around eating spillage from the feeder. I was thrilled to see a Cardinal.  My resident birds include two pairs of Mockingbirds who sing often and are very territorial. I was wondering if somebody were poisoning the squirrels because they haven't been teasing the dogs. Then I saw a Mockingbird dive-bombing a poor squirrel. The squirrel was makin' tracks.