Temporarily out of order......

This is just exactly how I feel, except the lightning bolt is in my lower back. I am putting out a distress call for drugs of any kind. I have never had an issue with back pain except once and I always prided myself on using good body mechanics as a nurse, thereby missing the scourge of most nurses that I know.


But, sitting on a low stool, turning a wrench for hours and being in an awkward position when working on the RV, apparently did me in. It came on slowly and was probably aggravated by two long vigorous walks that Sonja and I did . Since yesterday, I have been laid low, using Motrin (mostly ineffective) and wishing it were Morphine. I'm assuming I can slowly heal thru the weekend and be up and running (a figure of speech only) by Monday.

Weather is lovely , in the 70's, light breezes, no humidity and the golf course is waiting. Had to cancel my usual Friday foresome.
And now, I'm going to try and sit in a chair and do some drawing.
Addendum a few hours later: . . .can't sit, can't lay, barely walk....the heating pad is my friend. I feel my years plus 30.

Home at last....

When I last left you, I was expressing confidence that the issue with the slides would be taken care of, we would enjoy a couple days of relaxation at the nearby beach and we would arrive home rested and refreshed......................HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
For two days, the great minds of the male gender discussed, pondered, paced, mumbled.......and I worried and whined and figured out that the great beast was severely wounded and would have to stay in the campground without us. One of the slides did go in manually as it was supposed to, the other woudn't budge. Various owners of these behemoths stopped by to express their opinion and shake their heads, happy it was not their problem. But, not to be outwitted, Paul used that amazing analytical brain and came up with an idea and IT WORKED. For about 3 hours, we manually turned wrenches on either end of the slide and inch by inch, it crept in and locked. We hurried up and departed before anything else decided to go haywire. We still had a 6 hour ride to get safely home.

At a rest stop, we parked next to this .....it looked so appealing and simple.........and SMALL. A large dog, a tall guy and a woman apparently fit in it.

So we have been home for 3 days, the weather is cool, the schedule has been busy and the Moving Roadblock is in storage where it can sit for awhile and get its act together. Paul has ordered a piece to fix the offending part and those long 7 days of dodging weather, wind, darkness and tractor trailers are over for now.

If it's not one thing, it's another.......

We have managed to avoid snow storms, tornados, torrential rain and catastrophic flooding (the Weather Channels description) and the plague so far....(.that being H1N1) but got waylaid by a mechanical issue. Anyhow, I am currently at Panera Bread , using their free internet and enjoying their salads and THE BREAD...mostly THE BREAD. We have been on the road for over 4 days and have not had decent internet. I know you have been waiting for a travel blog but folks, this ain't it. This is just to let you know that if we could have, we would have and we couldn't so we didn't. Even the Wonder Phone didn't come thru on this one altho I do know people who have blogged on it, I just haven't figured it out yet.
We left Denver early to avoid a predicted snow storm. (Jenna sent pictures of the 26 inches on the back deck and the buried dog) We headed south to New Mexico, a mostly desolate desparate looking place and then into Oklahoma which is wide open spaces of cattle and oil and cattle and oil and looks prosperous. We spent the night in a lovely RV camp that we had stayed in 3 years previously. We had planned to head to Little Rock to see the Clinton Library but wisely checked out the forecast and decided to head more southerly to avoid serious storms. We spent the night at a casino campground in Shreveport , La with an overabundant supply of large mosquitos, close proximity to the train track and its loud frequent whistle, and on the flight path to the airport. We were too tired to explore the gambling. But we listened to the ominous weather report and departed at sunrise to get as far away as possible from the pending weather. And a tornado did hit in Shreveport and the interstate was closed from flooding and it is expected to get worse. We finally made it to Biloxi and wandered thru a huge casino and drove along the Gulf coast and saw the Katrina devastation of all the beautiful southern mansions that lined the drive. It is very sad.
I managed to spend $5 and walk away with $27 profit from the glitzy casino. We were there all of 20 minutes before we got bored. No offense to those who this appeals to but after a long drive, we were more interested in reclining.
So now, we are in Destin Florida in a beautiful state park on the beach. Weather is warm, humid and the area is a beehive of shopping and dining and of course, the beautiful snow white beaches. However, Paul has spent the afternoon trying to solve a mechanical issue with the RV. One of the slides failed to go out more than a few inches. The other, put out first, had no problem. He has a call into a technical support and has discussed it with Michael and hopefully it can be fixed. If not, the slides can be manually brought in and we will take it home for repair there. Anyway, we are planning on staying here 2 nights and heading home early Sunday morning. Pictures another day....stay tuned.

What a difference a day makes

Flew into Colorado yesterday and was greeted by this. Not heavy snow but steady and cold. Quite a shock to my system. As we were descending thru the clouds and snow, I noticed that slushy snow was building up on the wings. So, being the intrepid and brave flier that I am, but also having inside knowledge, I just knew that the wing deicers weren't on and we were going to cartwheel into the Colorado landscape below. I quit looking but then just had to peek again and some had fallen off so figured that the crew was indeed awake and had turned on the deicers and we would all live.

Can you count the computers in this picture.....yes, there are 5 and on the other side of the room , Paul and I were each on our laptops........ total of 7 and yet we were all able to multi task and have quality family time.





Today we are loading up the "Moving Roadblock" and heading south to warmer climes. We hope to be home in about 6 days. Updates when we have WiFi.

Ocala Art Show

Warning; A pictureless blog entry....sorry

I am still unable to put iPhone pictures on the blog. Paul sent some spectacular videos via the iPhone and I tried to get those on also but no luck. I am winging my way West tomorrow so hopefully, this problem can be rectified by Michael.

My friend Ann and I went up to the annual Ocala Art Show today. It was a little steamy but not terribly crowded. There was some very good art , some interesting art and just plain wierd art....but it's all in the eyes of the beholder I guess. I happened across this artist, christinasmith.net.....go to her website and enjoy her work. I bought one of her small giclee's of a snow goose. I also managed to pick up a piece of work by Don Nedobeck who does whimsical watercolors of cats, mostly. I first bought a piece from him at a show in Breckinridge, Co, and couldn't resist another. Enjoy his website www.nedobeck.com.

Follow us next week as we meander thru America's heartland on our way south.....trying to avoid predicted snow.

Stepping out on a limb......

Yes, I'm still here .....but currently blogging under very trying conditions. Who ever thought we should communicate this way when it is far too complex for the normal human brain and virtually a muddle for someone of my intellect....but anyhow.......... see those pictures up there? Well, on blogger format, before publishing, they do not appear as pictures but are a bunch of gibberish...as a result, I am unable to reposition them into the body of my blog. Normally, I can review them, position them or delete them .....now when I look at this , I see no pictures. They do appear in the preview so I'm hoping they pop up when I publish. But this format is ALL wrong. The computer has been totally screwed up for over a week and Paul has tried his best to work with it. I now have a duplicate site I could work from but I'd rather stay on the familiar side and just bitch about how annoying all of this is......
But I digress. Back to the pictures. The top two are pictures I took (the scanner isn't working either !) of 2 of my recent sketches. I took Botanical Art courses at the NY Botanical Gardens a number of years ago and despite good intentions, never kept at it much. Lately, I've been dabbling again and feeling the need to explore my creative side again. I've tried a couple art classes here but without much satisfaction. I maintain contact with one of my instructors from NYBG who now is on her own. She steered me to a school in Sarasota and after months of procrastination, I signed up for a distance learning class. (See bottom picture). I placed my order for the books yesterday and this morning my phone rang. When I answered, the lovely voice on the other end said, "Hello, this is Olivia" Well, I don't know any Olivia's except for the lady who developed this program and I was stunned that she would personally call me. We talked for about 30 minutes. Because I just dipped my toe into the process, she felt that I needed some guidance and was very generous with her time in explaining the Certification process (I don't think I'm that interested in getting a Certification in Botanical Art as it is lengthy and arduous) and how the school works. And she said that Mindy, my NYBG instructor, would be teaching some workshops in the near future. So, I am all aflutter with enthusiasm and can't wait for the materials to arrive. And now that I"ve shared this with all of you, I figure I'll have to post progress reports and won't be able to slack off. And I'll expect critiques.....
Paul left this morning for Denver and the next 'jeeping adventure' with Mike and Lizzie and Alex in Moab, Utah. I'll fly out this weekend and then Paul and I will drive the motorhome back to Florida for the winter.
By the way, it FINALLY cooled off down here.....to the tune of mid 40's in the mornings. But it's back up into the 80's again but no humidity so the house is open and it is refreshing and golf is once again non-life threatening from heat stroke.

And, we always knew the Broncos would be 6 - 0 at this point in the season....we really did.

Yes, it's still HOT down here......

Paul is back from his trip to the Big Apple. Well, it wasn't like he was strolling the streets of Manhattan but more like he was sitting in a classroom at JFK for recurrent training. But at least he got a taste of fall weather and wearing of the jeans again.
Meanwhile, I was putting on a birthday celebration for Aunt Romayne's 97th. She is quite remarkable.

This was a flower "cake" that I found, complete with candles. It is really cute and will last a long time. She refrigerates it each night and so far it shows no signs of deterioration. Watching her and my mother, I've figured out the secret to longevity. One is obviously genes....my uncle is well into his 90's, my grandmother lived into her 90's. Romayne's dad lived into his 90's ( they made a pact to live to be 100 and I think she'll make it) and most of her siblings lived to the late 80's and early 90's. Both women have made exercise a big part of their lives. Neither takes any medication. They are both small. They eat very healthy, enjoying vegetables and fruits and small portions but liking ice cream. They have great personalities and are well liked. They had long marriages. Interestingly, my mother is surrounded by family and is outgoing. Romayne had no children and describes herself as a 'hermit'.
Their quality of life remains high and that is at least as important as a long life.

Meanwhile, I have been frustrated and trying to figure out why I can't get pictures from my phone to the picture gallery on the computer. I manage to capture life thru my phone vs. a camera for obvious reasons. And I often upload the pictures that I get from texting to post on the blog. (yes, with the iPHONE, we can now send pictures in a text....it is way cool and fortunately, Jenna and Marybeth share their life instantly....because, if I can't be there, I still need to be a part of it.) So last week, when that ability to upload those pictures just quit working, I began to whine and Paul (who can fix anything), spent hours searching the innards and brain of this Sony and then sent an SOS to our sons. Mike is on the road and didn't answer, Jon tried to come to some conclusions and Jeff said, " Sorry, I'm a MAC". So, I couldn't blog. I knew I had some good stuff just waiting to be posted but not without pictures ...... I knew my audience would leave if they had another barren picture-less post.
So, I will stumble on, try to carry my camera with me and hope the problem fixes itself, just like it broke itself.

Some of the views I was going to share were from Jenna's texts....they are currently on their way home from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. They crew for a balloon team and send amazing pictures. One of them sort of looked like this with a note that said Alex was in a balloon in the middle. Yes, they get to go up in those balloons also.

It is all so spectacular, especially at night.

When we moved into this neighborhood, it was new construction and not much wildlife had come back. Slowly, we are seeing more and more geckos, birds and I suspect, more creepy things. But this morning, just at sunrise, I was greeted with such exuberance and spirit. A mockingbird (I think) was sitting in a nearby palm and just singing his heart out. I have seen and heard them on the golf course and they have mighty voices. I hope he decides to set up housekeeping out back.

A day without pictures is.........boring

Coming up for air after a busy week. And no pictures to prove that I wasn't just eating bon bons for that time.

Aunt Romayne was moved into her beautiful new apartment last Wed. Altho we didn't pack or move it ourselves, it involved too many details and tasks and just felt like one of our moves, on a smaller scale. So now we are just left with more organizing and sorting and hanging of the pictures and drapes and such. But she is happier and the long drive (45min) has been reduced to a lovely golf cart ride from our house.



On the news this morning, they said that there are about 28 gazillion bloggers (it was either millions or billions, didn't quite get it) and at least 50% of them earn money from that blog. !! Either by allowing ads or by promoting products. And now they will be required to disclose if they are endorsing a product. I really don't see why laws have to get in the way of all of this altho I do read some blogs that apparently make big bucks from their many advertisements. One such blog is written by a mother of 4 who lives on a huge cattle ranch, homeschools the kids, writes a cooking blog, a homeschooling blog, a home and garden blog, a photography blog and her daily blog. And she has very generous give-aways....like iPods, Kitchen Aid Mixers, gift cards to Target and Amazon and one time , 2 pair of custom made cowboy boots. She says she does not receive these items from the ads but sort of indicates she buys them with her profits from the ads. And she gets 10-15000 hits a day. (including me) . And she's an interesting read.

Speaking of consumerism.......guess who finally broke down and bought a new phone ?? His previous one was barely hanging on and I think the fear of losing all the contacts was the driving force..... So he is now the proud owner of the newest and latest iPhone. His has a compass AND a video camera. And a lot more room to store stuff. And with the new upgrade , we can all text PICTURES.....very cool. And no, we are not endorsing Apple or iPhone but we certainly would if they made it worthwhile to the writer of this 'world famous blog'.....

Views

Up until last week, the 70,000 + citizens of The Villages had few choices if home ownership and it's upkeep was no longer feasible. But now we have Freedom Pointe with 240 gorgeous condos and a vast array of amenities. Next door is a new rehab center and assisted living and skilled care. There is a parking garage for GOLF CARTs.......the favored mode of transport around here. Paul's 97 yr old aunt will move in this week. She will be the oldest and the 39th owner. Many more will follow quickly.



On Saturday, Jeff and Paul played 18 with our special neighbors, Freida and John.
(I am waiting for 60 degree days.)

This is their creatively designed golf cart, done up to acknowledge their joy of Jimmy Buffett, the Parrotheads and Margaritaville. It's very cute.

And, as I'm becoming very weary of the persistent scorching temperatures down here, I remember the beautiful fall days in Connecticut and this view on our lake.

Golf in The Villages

Here's the family's star golfer.....It was fun watching him launch those shots with such great precision. Jeff flew in on Tuesday from the Vancouver, Washington area. He is an excellent player , among other fine attributes. We have a lot of golf planned. Today, we played 18 holes, or Jeff did. Paul and I called it quits after the 17th. It was 90 degrees out there and I was feeling pretty fried. It was HOT.

This is just one example of some of the daunting holes......I played badly and blame it on not playing much this summer. Hope always springs eternal for most golfers, as we're convinced the next hole, the next game, the next week, etc.....all will improve.

There is assorted wildlife on the course and sandhill cranes don't seem to mind us getting up close and personal.

This was the 17th hole. All the times I have played this, I have NEVER managed to carry it across the swamp. Today was no different. Paul and Jeff did.....at which point I declared that it was a stupid game , a waste of my time and I wouldn't consider playing again....until tomorrow morning at 10 with the ladie's group.....

Photos by Jeff (http://www.riverroadphotography.com/)

It isn't 90 degrees everywhere

I headed North on Thursday on a short 2 hour flight. The sunny view from the plane was deceiving and it was COLD . Luckily, I brought my hand knit wool sox and flannel pajamas. Besides being welcomed by two mighty fine grandsons, these exuberant kittens greeted me. They are siblings and so far, mostly nameless. We were never successful in naming our many cats. They mostly just became Kitty.

There was talk of a dog but busy schedules sometimes dictate more accomodating pets.

I'll head back on Tuesday just as Paul completes his two weeks of work in Miami. And hopefully, no pets will welcome us home.

Small World

When we lived in Newtown for 30 + yr s, I walked regularly on the area roads. And believe it or not, I even jogged in those younger years, up and down the country lanes. On occasion, I would pass another walker who just happened to have the same kind of dog that we had, a wonderful little Westie. This is our Laddie.....he lived 17 years. She also drove a Saab and had 3 sons, just like me. And blonde hair. And she lived about a mile from us. But altho we knew the same people, we never connected on a social level, just a Hi and wave as we passed on the roads. So, many many years later, after we'd lived in Pa for a few years, we came down here. And one of my former neighbors tells me that Sonja moved to The Villages also. Just out of curiosity, I looked them up in the phone book and WHOA.......they live on our STREET.!!!! How weird is that ??? So we are now walking partners. She still lives in Newtown and hates the heat so is only here for short days in the summer but is here most of the winter. I am heading up to Ct on Thurs and was looking forward to walking on those old familiar roads with her ....(.those hills are much more challenging these days).........but she emailed me and said she would be down here . So this morning , we had a vigorous hour plus jaunt around the neighborhoods. It's just not as scenic but the conversation is lively. We had a lot to catch up on. I still think it's remarkable that we have connected. She'll be down for a couple of weeks so we can do more catching up when I get back. I'm heading up to spend the weekend with Andy and Mason while their Mom and Dad go to a wedding. I'm looking forward to that fall weather and wearing jeans.
It's still 90 degrees down here.
Today, I headed over and got the first of the flu shots this year. I also

got the Shingles vaccine. Both of my parents had Shingles in recent years and I have seen the misery first hand. The Villages is very efficient in offering vaccines to anyone who wants them. Each day, a different area Rec. Center offers it and the wait is minimal. The pneumonia, flu , shingles and tetanus are all available. For all you old people, Medicare paid for it all except a small charge for the Shingles.

Pretty ugly

The mandevillas are doing great. The blossoms are so large and lush. But they still don't get an adequate supply of water from the sprinkler system so hand watering is needed. We need to correct that. Left in my care, most green and living things die.......Speaking of

GREEN and LIVING.... Mr. Gecko has taken up residence on the lanai. He started out as a tiny 1 inch baby and as you can see, in the past month or so , he has filled out a bit. I don't like him out there but since it is still too warm to open up the doors, I don't fear him coming in to the house. But I do fear him growing and possibly becoming THIS
.

Not a chance you say....????? Green, 4 legs, long tail, pointy head, moves quickly, beady eyes...........looks like same gene pool to me.

And who would have predicted this ...........BRONCOS WIN SEASON OPENER. It was a terrible game for both the Bengels and the Broncos until the last 20 seconds. It wasn't a John Elway type save , just dumb luck.

Got back on the golf course this weekend......twice. Not pretty. Except for the new shoes.

Going home

Yesterday was a lazy day with no big agenda..........so we started at the beach. It was a bit breezy ...... That being quite an understatement when the umbrella launched itself into the air and then careened along the beach putting all in its path in peril. It was impressive in it's speed. Luckily, it was caught before it could do harm. So then we placed it back in the sand but I kept one hand firmly on it. Meanwhile, Paul and Curt tried their skill at boogey boarding. It was not always pretty and the photographer spared them any further embarrassment. I think you have to be a 6 year old to do it with style.Jan and Curt and Laca and Kevin are avid shell hunters . The beach closest to us doesn't have blog worthy shells to capture. But further south, there are more fruitful pickings.

But.......Laca learned the hard way about liberal applications ofsunscreen. This was acquired during their kayaking trip.......ouch.

We are heading home today, regretfully. We take with us a bit of sand, a lot of memories and a relaxed spirit.

Charleston

Today I am in a rush as the masses are urging me to remove myself from this computer and get thee to the beach.....But knowing my loyal fans are hanging on my every update , I have ignored their pleadings......

We wandered the streets of Charleston yesterday. The air was balmy and delightful and it was a short 21 mile drive from Kiawah. Altho I learned a great deal of very early history, early history and later early history, I won't detail it here...... mostly because I can't remember all the wars and invasions and disasters that have befallen this magnificent area.

This is a close up of a woman making a sweetgrass basket. This is a skill passed down since the days of rice plantations when they made the baskets from local grasses to winnow the rice. On many street corners, these are displayed for sale. I wanted to take a picture of this women but she declined so I snapped a quick one of her working. The picture below is a googled picture since I forgot to take one on the many we saw. They are not cheap but very labor intensive so I am glad they are popular and valued. The woman did say that she liked my purse.....my big lime green one. I offered a trade for a basket but guess she didn't like it that much.

We did take a carriage ride thru the streets.......here is a cobblestone road that are prevalent in the older parts.. The stones were used for ballast by the English ships and then either dumped or made into streets.
A view from the ride shows the Slave Market up ahead. It was a place to buy and sell slaves altho their history is rather vague and more politically correct these days when discussing this. On a smaller scale, it reminds me a bit of Pike's market in Seattle or Fanueil Hall in Boston in that it is a long, multi block open air building with stalls for selling assorted goods. Pike's market is more upscale, Boston's is more permanent and this one had mostly forgettable shopping. It is also an area of frequent floods so all looks temporary.

Here is our guide and horse, Bandit. Some of stories told may or maynot be historically accurate but it was a pleasant ride thru history for an hour.

Later we walked and walked and walked. I took few pictures but this is a view of Rainbow Row where they narrow houses are each painted a different colors. There are 40 'approved paints' in Charleston and most of the city looks like a Historical district so not much can be changed without lengthy bureacratic decisions.

Not sure of the history, if any, of this house but it is somewhat typical of the narrow tiny row houses.

Later, we met the rest of the family for some libation. We met at the world renowned Hyman Seafood restaurant downtown. We ate well and of course, I have pictures to prove it.

Laca has been raised a true southerner. She ordered Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomatoes........note, I said this was a SEAFOOD restaurant. !!

Kevin took the plunge and ordered the Fried Calamari po-boy sandwich. This picture does not begin to show the true size of this whopper..........he declared it delicious and most of us declined a taste.

Jan and I had shrimp appetizers with really fresh and delicious hush puppies. Curt also had the fried green tomatoes and the shrimp.

Paul had the fried flounder. It was massive but he gave it a 10 for freshness and taste.


BEFORE

AFTER

And then we were too full and satiated to do anything but go home and take a nap.

Charleston is just lovely and would need many many trips to enjoy it all. We'd like to go back.

And now we're off to the beach.............................................

Kiawah Island, Day 2

It was a peaceful morning, like so many other mornings on the Island. Jan and Laca sharing mother-daughter thoughts. And then........, The "Jaw' s Music" could be heard in the distance......you know the tune.....
and the pair looked out on that dark and stormy night.....(ooops, wrong story)

....looked out to see who was humming the ominous sound.........

. It was Larry ........contrary to popular belief, he had no interest in food or small children or even the mother-daughter conversation......

Larry knew that a 'world famous blog' was about to be written and he wanted to be a part of it. He put on his best shiny coat, without the assorted twigs and leaf adornments, drew up close and personal and showed those pearly whites for the camera. And then he waited and waited and waited.........

*************************************************************************
Meanwhile, life on the Island was waiting to be explored. First we went for a walk. Trails wind thru the lovely live Oaks and palms. Then we went for a long bike ride for more distant views.

And close up views.......

We ended the afternoon at the beach......with a cold one, a good book and a best friend...forever......