Florida critters...

 As part of our adventuring around Florida, we drove on "Alligator Alley" and came upon a National Preserve in the Everglades.  I had never been in the Everglades before so we stopped at the information center.  A nice young ranger there was talking to a gentleman in front of us about a loop drive through the back country which also sounded interesting to us.  So we got a little more information, followed directions and found the entrance to the loop.  We were told it would be a two hour drive and it was. The first several miles were  a dusty dirt road and so bumpy that you really couldn't go faster than 10 mph.  This was fine for seeing animals. 

We saw these big boys sunning along the road.  I took this picture from the car.

This relatively little fellow was in the road.  I did feel brave enough to get out of the car for this shot.  

On another day, after the loop adventure, we stopped at a rest area where this sign was posted "WARNING BEWARE OF VENOMOUS SNAKES."  We decided to risk the quick walk to the restrooms.  Having safely made it there, I was standing in a stall, latching the door when I felt something wet and cold on my leg a little above my ankle.  My immediate thought was SNAKE!! but before I went into full panic mode, I looked down and saw a curious puppy who had snuck under the wall with the adjoining stall.  

And that concludes my Florida animal adventures.

I'm back....

 My Wonder Spouse and I returned yesterday from our ten day driving trip to and around Florida. The purpose was to visit friends and family on both sides of our newly merged families, and also to see some parts of Florida I've never seen before.  I'll be hitting the highlights in the next few blogs, in no particular order.  Our general travel plan was to stop and visit with people, take them to lunch or dinner, then spend our nights in convenient hotels.  My WS, being the super organized sort, had the whole trip laid out on a spread sheet, all of the hotels reserved and when possible prepaid.  The other thing that made my WS so wonderful was that he did all the driving.  Believe me, driving I75 in Florida is risky business at best.  If you long for thrills, I recommend it.  He quickly realized that the posted 70 mph speed limit was merely a suggestion that seemed to reflect the minimum realistic speed.  The other fun thing about driving in Florida is that when you exit the interstate you don't end up on a quiet little side street, just another super fast four to eight lane highway.  We have already decided that our next trip to FL will involve flying.  But enough about roads.  Out first stop in FL was to visit friends of mine who live in The Villages (population 150,000).  They have lived there for 14 years and love it. It has many lovely features including 50 golf courses and country clubs, many restaurants and nightly music in the squares, lots of groups and activities. It also has cute little golf carts running all over the place.  My friend admitted though that it's faster to get places in their car.  It was a nice place to visit, but not my cup of tea. More about the places I really loved will follow in the next few blogs.

read a book

 My west coast brother informs me that today is "National Librarian Day." As you might assume, I have many fond memories of librarians.  There was Naomi Tremp, librarian in our small town, who had been there since my father was a child.  The librarian in our high school who let me spend study hall hours in the library shelving books, and discovering wonderful books, including my favorite ever "A Town Like Alice."  There was also the bookmobile driver and many more.  Tomorrow I'm leaving on a 10 day driving trip to visit friends and family to, from and in Florida.  I will not be blogging, so your assignment while I'm gone is to visit your local library and find a great book to read.  Enjoy!

picture this

 Once again my west coast brother has nudged some memories with his daily text.  First of all, because it made me laugh, today is "Tax Day" and also "Take a Wild Guess Day."  I hope none of you had to do any wild guessing.  But enough about that sore subject. The special day that stirred memories for me is "Art History Day."  I've always loved Art History.  When my children were very young I was hired to teach Art History at the Fort Wayne Art School, which later merged with IPFW.  It was a part time job with lectures twice a week but it kept my brain from turning to pablum.  Fortunately I had a wonderful mother-in-law who was only too happy to baby sit on those days.  We started with prehistoric art and worked our way through modern art in four semesters.  This was back in the days of slides and slide projectors and some of each class was spent looking at appropriate slides from the school's extensive collection.  After two years I had a complete collection of lecture notes and was ready to start the series again, feeling much more confident than the first time around.  Then we moved to south eastern Ohio for my husband's new job.  That was the end of my lecturing career.  But happily, over the last fifteen years, I have been able to travel in several European countries, visit some excellent galleries, and see the originals of many of the works of art I used to lecture about.  It's always a joyful jolt to come upon a piece I remember, like seeing an old friend, and it's fun to see their true size, often much larger or smaller than their projected image.  Fair warning, if you're ever touring a gallery or museum with me, I will be lagging behind.

my roles....

 Seeing the Shakespeare scenes yesterday made me think about my various roles in Shakespeare's plays and I want to share a few memories.  Our previous director at First Presbyterian Theater loved Shakespeare, and produced one of the bard's plays per year.  Happily, I was able to get parts in some of them.  The first was my role as Romeo's mother.  I had five lines.  There's a bit of a back story here.  Before I auditioned for the play I was substitute teaching for an English teacher at a local high school.  One class was studying Romeo and Juliette and I was really into it.  At one point I was explaining that Juliette was no dummy.  She insisted on marriage before she let Romeo into her bedroom.  Just as I finished expounding on this I glanced down and realized that a girl in the front row appeared to be about eight months pregnant.  I was so embarrassed.  After Romeo and Juliet came Henry IV.  I played the nurse in the king's death scene.  Again about five lines.  Then there was Anthony and Cleopatra where I played the soothsayer.  I delivered lots of warnings and pithy advice and also delivered the asp to Cleo.  There were others but you get the idea.  Sadly, I had landed a really good role in a Shakespeare play and we had just started rehearsal when Covid struck and everything was shut down,  By the time that was all over our director had left and, while we hired an excellent new director, he doesn't do Shakespeare.  I have been in many other plays over the years and enjoyed them all, but there's something about Shakespeare.  By the way, if you ever want to see truly excellent performances of Shakespeare's plays go to Stratford, Ontario.  The summer theater actors there do an amazing job.

fun at the Phil...

 This evening's Philharmonic concert was, in my opinion, one of the very best this season.  The first half was fun because Elgar's "Falstaff, Op.68" was performed with an interesting addition.  Between each movement actors performed short scenes featuring Falstaff (Bob Haluska) and Prince Henry (Kevin Torwelle) in short scenes from Shakespeare's play, "Henry IV."  I actually had a part in a First Pres Production of Henry IV and this brought back some fun memories.  In case you're wondering, I played King Henry's nurse in his dying scene.  It took me longer to get into my costume than the total time I was on stage.  

All of that was great, but the second half of the evening was simply amazing.  The music was Beethoven's "Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61." While I admit that I enjoy Beethoven more than Elgar, what made this performance simply outstanding was the guest soloist.  Philippe Quint is the most amazing violinist I have ever heard.  The fact that he was playing the 1708 "Ruby" Antonio Stradivari violin didn't hurt either.  I can't really describe his music except to say that it was sublime.  If you ever have a chance to hear Philippe Quint perform, don't miss it.  

long ago and far away...

 Today is National Dive Bar Day, among other things, according to my west coast brother.  Thinking about that has brought back a long-ago memory to share.  It was the summer of 1967 and I had arrived early in upstate New York to begin a new teaching job, middle school art.  It was six weeks before the beginning of the school year because I had spent earlier weeks of the summer helping care for a dear aunt in Pennsylvania.  After I paid the deposit and first month's rent on my very cute third floor attic apartment, I realized I was out of money.  With eight weeks to go before I could expect a pay check, I went looking for a job.  There was an ad in the little local paper that said "Wanted, attractive barmaid, no experience necessary." You could run that kind of ad in 1967.  Well, the 'no experience' part certainly fit, and, at 22, I was still pretty confident about my looks.  So I strolled into Joe's Bar and Grill (name changed to protect the innocent), a dark little bar that was as close to a dive bar as I will ever come.  I said I was answering the ad, got the job, and started that very afternoon.  My hours were 4pm to midnight Monday through Friday. My customers were almost all men who worked in the nearby Catskill resort hotels in the summer and went home, somewhere in the south, in the winter to work in the chicken processing plants.  Consequently they had the strangest mixed accent I had ever heard.  Joe invited me to go to Florida with him for the winter when he closed the bar.  I didn't say yes, but I also didn't tell him that I would only be there for six weeks. The patrons only tipped on Fridays when they got paid but were a very friendly bunch.  Joe carried around a huge wad of money to cash their checks.  We only served straight shots and beer, so I learned the barmaid job pretty quickly.  I can tip a mug and get just the right amount of foam with the best of them.  And, as the weeks went on, I began to understand their accent, which proved very helpful when school started and I met their children.  I quit at the end of the summer with some made-up excuse, not a problem since Joe was going to be shutting down anyway, and started my year of teaching. At the end of the first day of school the custodian came into my classroom to clean, took one look at me, and burst out laughing.  He was a regular at Joe's.  

picture this....

 My Wonder Spouse and I spent this rainy day hanging pictures.  It started when I decided to tackle the few remaining boxes that I had not unpacked since everything got moved in after our wedding.  All of the pictures that I had brought from my apartment were in those boxes, and when I told my husband that I would like to have them hung up sometime he got right on it.  One of his endearing traits is that once he starts a project, he doesn't stop until it's done.  This is really good for me since I'm a world class procrastinator.  I didn't realize how much I had been missing my pictures until I saw them all hung up.  It was like welcoming old friends into my new home.  Here are a few examples. 

I'm sorry this is so dark.  I didn't think to take pictures of my pictures until evening.  I bought this original painting at an art auction at our church many years ago.  Now it's hanging in our living room.

These two pieces, not really pictures, but definitely wall art, are now hanging in our kitchen.  The top piece is a 'wedding spoon' that I bought in the Lapland area of Finland on a trip some years ago.  I had no idea at the time that I would be a bride again someday.

The bottom piece, a trivet, so also kitchen appropriate, came from another trip, this time to Australia.  After my first husband died I was blessed with friends who liked to travel.  Now, after 18 years a widow, I have a new husband who likes to travel.  Isn't life surprising?
 

Oh, brothers.....

 After my west coast brother informed me this morning that today is Siblings Day, what else could I write about? It's also, as it happens, National Farm Animals Day and Safety Pin Day.  Since I do not have farm animals (although my WCB does have goats) and can seldom find a safety pin when I need one, as a topic siblings won out.  I have had two brothers and am blessed that one is still alive.  As you know, my west coast brother and I communicate daily, and, even though he and my dearest sibling-in-law live way out west, we get together when we can. They came here in July for a big family reunion, I went there for their youngest daughter's wedding in October, and they were back here for my wedding in January.  I really love the closeness of our families. Not forgetting that he put a dead snake in my car, I do still love that brother, but today I'm also remembering my other brother who died in 2019.  After my first spouse died and my brother was divorced, we travelled together several times and developed a closer relationship than we had had for many years.  We were so blessed to have that time together.  And speaking of traveling together, here's a picture of the two of us on one of our first, admittedly short, trips together.  

Some of you, if you grew up in Fort Wayne, may remember the photographer who came through neighborhoods with his horse, and took pictures, for a fee of course, of children on the horse.  The thrill of my five-year-old life was, that, after this picture was taken, he let me stay on the horse and ride all the way to the other end of the block.  In case you're wondering, my west coast brother is ten years younger than me so was not on the scene yet.  Happy happy Siblings Day to all of you who are so blessed.  

still things to celebrate

 My west coast brother assured me today that, even though the eclipse is over, there are still things to celebrate.  First, in the category of natural phenomenon, they have a white headed robin living in their yard.  I've never heard of such a thing but he sent me a picture.  He also sent me a list of special days to be celebrated on April 9 - National Unicorn Day,  National Chicken Little Awareness Day, and most important, National Cherish an Antique Day.  I haven't seen any unicorns galloping by and the Chicken Little story scared me when I was very young, but cherishing antiques sounds good.  My brother says that his wife cherishes him so that's all good, but according to Google, an antique is something over 100 years old.  While I cherish my spouse and he cherishes me, we are not antiques yet.  Give us 20 years and we will be, and, guess what, in 2044 the next eclipse will be here.  I'd better save those glasses.  

It's all over...

 The eclipse has come and gone as we knew it would, but wasn't it fascinating while it lasted? My husband and I watched from our back yard so we did not see the total eclipse, but it was so close.  We watched as the moon ate the sun 'til only the tiniest speck of orange was showing on one side.  Alas, that's as close as we got to totality,  But, as we sat there enjoying the show in the sky, we also felt the air get cooler, heard the birds excitedly chirping to each other, and listened to a few dogs barking.  Nothing from the squirrels; I think they were just hiding.  We also heard some fire works going off.  I'm not sure why fireworks seemed appropriate, but it made me think of primitive people making loud noises to bring back the sun.  All in all, a totally enjoyable afternoon.

mapping it....

 As I think I mentioned in an earlier blog, my Wonder Spouse and I will be leaving later this month on a driving trip to Florida.  Along the way and along the way back we will visit friends and family, one or two families each day.  What I'm marveling at is the fact that WS already has the trip all "mapped out."  My recent phone and text conversations consist of "We will be in your area on such and such a date. Can we get together for lunch or supper?"  Or, better yet, we'll be at your place on such and such at date at 5:00pm."  He also has all of our hotels booked, even out on the Keys.  And of course we will navigate to each place using GPS.  Don't get me wrong, I admire all of this precision, I really do, but today I found myself thinking, wouldn't it be fun to have a AAA Triptic to guide us?  Do you remember those?  Just flip page after page to know exactly where you're going.  I would also like a couple of really big maps that, once unfolded, never quite allow themselves to be refolded correctly.  I am still a member of AAA (they have gotten me out of many sticky spots over the years) and, while I don't really think I need a Triptic, I might just ask for a big map of the eastern US and possibly one of Florida.  They don't take up much space, and WS, having been a Boy Scout, should appreciate my urge to be prepared.

shine on....

 Did you love the sunshine today?  I certainly did.  After all the cloudy rainy days lately I was beginning to feel sunshine-deprived.  But not today.  Today was a day of blue skies and puffy white clouds and bright sunshine.  We were so inspired by the sunshine that my spouse and I did a solar observation.  My son, who has access to such things, had given us solar eclipse glasses to use on Monday.  Please note, we are not driving anywhere on Monday.  We will be happy with seeing a partial eclipse from our own back yard.  My son, on the other hand will be in Indianapolis, with the company he works for, launching balloons high into the air to photograph the eclipse above any clouds.  He has to leave home at 4:00am to be there in time to set things up.  I'm sure it will be a fairly quick trip to Indy but nobody knows how long it will take him, and everyone else, to get home.  Now back to today and our solar observation.  We took our eclipse glasses into the back yard and looked at the sun.  There it was, a little round disc in the sky.  I was amazed at how small and far away it looked; smaller than the moon.  I'm excited to see what we will see on Monday.

An additional fun note: as I was sorting through many boxes of stuff, getting my new office set up, I came upon an envelope labeled "Solar eclipse glasses - keep for April 8, 2024." Sure enough there was one pair carefully wrapped inside, saved from the eclipse in 2017.  Proof, if it was ever needed, that I save lots of stuff.

all in a good cause....

 I admit to over indulging today but it was all in a good cause or good causes.  But now I'm sitting here feeling uncomfortably stuffed so I feel I must confess.  First I met with a friend for a catch-up lunch.  We talked for almost two hours, during which time we indulged in lovely breakfast for lunch meals, then, as time wore on, we agreed to dessert.  I had key lime pie.  Yum! I waddled out feeling quite content.  That was about 1:30pm.  At 5:30 my husband and I met one of my granddaughters and her boyfriend for dinner, during their brief time in town. We ate at Dos Margarita's.  This is one of my favorite places for Mexican food and I did not hold back.  That's why I'm sitting here right now feeling so full that I can't think of anything else to write about.  I will find something more exciting to blog about tomorrow.  I promise. 

4x4= ?

 My west coast brother informed me that today is National Jeep 4x4 Day, because it's April 4.  This is, or should be, a widely celebrated day in my family because over the years several family members, including my west coast brother and his family, have owned Jeeps.  Brand new Jeeps, quite elderly Jeeps, ordinary everyday Jeeps, Jeeps being saved for parts and elderly Jeeps with brand new engines.  It's all in the family.  I, on the other hand, drive a Fiat, which is not by any stretch of the imagination a 4x4.  All this thinking about cars and driving has me longing to travel and, happily, that wish is soon to be fulfilled.  My husband and I are going on a driving trip to Florida later this month with lots of stops along the way and on the way back to visit friends and family.  We are also going to drive out to Key West where I have never been before.  You may assume that I will be posting pictures when we return.  Hooray for road trips!!! 

foreign exchange...

 It seemed like a simple project.  I decided to call a company that pays me one of my little pensions each month to give them my change of name and address because the 2023 tax form still had my previous information.  I called the number kindly provided on the most recent form I have, which also shows an address in Illinois.  A very nice sounding young man with a thick Indian accent answered my call.  Please understand.  I am not prejudiced and I have dealt with many people with accents quite successfully, although I will admit that some Scots accents are tough to understand, to put it mildly.  One tour bus drive in Scotland had to write things down for me.  Actually I marvel at how spoiled we Americans are since people around the world speak English.  It wasn't the accent that was the problem. It was just one word.  After I found out pretty quickly that he couldn't take care of the name change but would mail me a form for that, we proceeded to the address change.  I gave him our house number and the street name of our address which ends in Court - for example 1234 Swampy Court, then proceeded to the city, Fort Wayne.  I went very slowly as he requested and spelled every thing out but some how he he thought Court and Fort were the same word and my street address was 1234 Swampy Court Lane.  It took me a while to realize what he was doing and another while to get things straightened out.  I finally told him to look at my old address, which he had confirmed a half hour earlier, where he saw Fort Wayne printed out.  Then I gave him my new zip code.  I should be getting something in the mail, some how, some time soon.  I live in hope.  

my good doctor...

 Those of you who are faithful readers of my blog (and I really do appreciate you) will have noticed that I failed to blog last night. I have a valid excuse.  Yesterday morning I woke up with a backache that had been bothering me off and on for several weeks.  Not sure if it was worse because of all the hustle and bustle on Sunday, but it was bad, so I decided I should call my doctor just in case it was something serious. I called at nine in the morning and was told to  come in at 5:40pm.  No delay, no "we can get you in in three weeks." It was obvious when we got there that I was his last patient of the day, but he took his time with me, listened carefully to my complaints, felt the muscles of my back and said they were "all knotted up."  And this is why I like my doctor so much, he offered me options.  I could solve the problem with some exercises or he could give me a prescription.  He said exercise would work better, which was just fine with me.  So he gave me a page of exercises to do three times a day and sent me home.  After we got home and had supper, I decided to go through the exercises before I went to bed. I did, then fell into bed exhausted, and forgot all about blogging.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.  

PS I did my exercises today and they are beginning to work.