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.