Gas Guzzlers

I took this picture from behind the wheel of my car while waiting at a traffic light. You can't see the light because the truck blocks my view. It's interesting that this oversized Chevy truck has a Hummer logo on it along with a tiny little bumper sticker above the license plat that reads, "Hi, I don't care, thanks." What do I know about the owner/driver of this bully? I know he's a bully from Indiana and I'll be real happy when he goes back to Indiana. We get so many of these jerks here in Florida and we're supposed to smile and be nice because they're "tourists."

Hmph! Tourist, smourists! He's just too big for his britches if you ask me. I drive a little Saturn that gets 26 miles per gallon and I get pushed out of the way by these bullies on a daily basis while driving to and from work. I try to be gracious and just get out of their way, but sometimes they irk me and I want to slap 'em!

One more month (give or take) and the tourists and snow birds will head back north.

Google "BLOG" = 701,000,000 entries

Nobody's read my blog yet.
At least, I don't think they have, because there's been no comments.
Otherwise, I've not a single, solitary clue how to tell if anyone has been here.
Then again, I didn't start this blog for anyone else. I started it for me.
I needed someplace where I could write about whatever I feel like writing about.
So, there!

One day, maybe, I'll send a link around to some of my friends.
But, maybe I'll find a way to insert a counter first.
That would be helpful, wouldn't it?
Yes. It would.
I paged through some of the "blog" entries listed on Google and, oh, my! there are blogs of every kind out there! Politics, economics, government, artists, writers, blogs about blogging and, of course, the "celebrity" blogs. Gimme a break! If you're a celebrity, aren't you already getting enough attention? What do you need a blog for? Jeez, Louise!
Well, there's my entry for today. I'm still trying to figure out how to be more creative with the photos ... onward!

Spring has Sprung, Part One

My darling husband showered me with gifts in February. For Valentine's Day he gave me a beautiful heart-shaped ring of rubies and diamonds. I have never received a gift like that before! And, for my birthday, he gave me a wonderful Nikon D80 digital camera and I have been snapping photos ever since! Here's one I took last Saturday --- and, as you can see, the clarity and colors are just amazing. I had been using a Kodak DX7590 (5 megapixels) and I was truly happy with it. But this Nikon (at 10 megapixels) just blows me away! The orchids were from a vendor in attendance at a big historical festival in Davie and I kick myself that I didn't have any money to buy one or two. They were $5 a piece for chrissake! I did, however, get some beautiful photographs of the orchids, so that will have to suffice for now. My next task is to figure out how to load more than one picture at a time to my blog. Hmmm... maybe there's help around here somewhere ...

a lost hour ...

It's the first Thursday in March and with my early morning cup of joe came the meteorologist's proclamation that this Saturday night we would move to Daylight Savings Time. Oh, joy. That means when I get up Sunday morning at 7:30 to go through the Sunday paper, it won't be 7:30, it will be 8:30. I'm usually done with my Sunday paper by then so I can take care of whatever it is I'm supposed to take care of after I read the Sunday paper. You see, Sunday is the only day of the week where I have the time to leisurely journey through the newspaper. I love the newspaper, but real life gets in the way of reading it on weekdays, so I resort to reading it on the internet during the week and eagerly anticipate the Sunday edition, at home wearing my pajamas and drinking my fresh-ground, home brewed coffee. I like the weight of the paper in the plastic bag when I pick it up from the driveway. I like the smell of the ink on paper when I remove it from the plastic bag. Once I have my coffee cup in hand, I switch on the lamp with its energy saving bulbs, don my red reading glasses and begin to disassemble the paper. The front page. The Local section. The business section and the art & culture section. The classifieds and the travel section. And, joy of joys! the weekly circulars from Target and K-Mart and other local stores comes under separate plastic wrap, just waiting for my purusal.

I put them in the order I like to read them and then I begin with Page One and don't stop (except to go to the bathroom!) until I'm done. The entire process usually takes about an hour. But this week, because I will lose an hour of my life to Daylight Savings Time, I suspect I will have to perform the abbreviated version of reading the Sunday paper.

I like the extra daylight at the end of the day that comes with Daylight Savings Time, but I don't really get to enjoy it for two or three weeks. You see, that's how long it takes my body to adjust. I wake up every morning two or three minutes before the alarm goes off. My internal clock works really well. But it won't be working for the next few weeks. I'll be thinking it's almost 5:30 AM and it will really be 6:30 AM and I will be late!

Rainy day in sunny, south Florida

In my all-time favorite movie, "You've Got Mail," Meg Ryan's character declares her love for daisies, saying, "Daisies are the friendliest flower." And, they surely are. Which is how I feel about the world today. Life's like a daisy --- friendly. But only for today.

Today there are no traumas, no crises, no problems that are in desperate need of solving. Today is one of those days when I got my work done at the job and now am confronted with the cold, hard fact that I have to get myself busy making valentines as St. Valentine's Day is only two days away, leaving me exactly one day to do the job!

It's downright ugly outside today. Today (a Tuesday) we have a "warm front" moving across the Florida peninsula. Tomorrow a "cold front" is supposed to sweep across the state, "ushering in cooler air." Last night I watched a newscast from Chicago and their high temperature was eight degrees with 10 to 20 mph winds. The temperature here might (and, I use the word "might" very loosely) ... might reach into the sixties. How I love this paradise where I've lived since I was 24. I'm accustomed to the summer weather, and so, don't complain about the heat. I don't complain about the rain either. I would, however, complain loudly if it were eight degrees! How does one function in that kind of weather? There's no way you could don enough clothes to stay warm, even if you wore cashmere and fur! I wouldn't last three days in eight degree weather, no matter how much I might like a place. I liked Montana ... in June. I liked the NC mountains ... in July. I liked Colorado in August. But there's is no way I could handle that kind of cold day after day. Not this chicken! I'll take a rainy day in sunny, south Florida anytime. I'll take a Florida cold front anytime they pass this way. And, by Friday, we'll be singing, "Here comes the sun!" (Can't you just hear the Beatles refrain?)

birthday blues

Yesterday was my birthday. It wasn't a very happy one though. And, then, this morning, before coffee was drunk, my husband became quite agitated and angry and he was, once again, bashing me, mocking me, belittling me and there was no way to talk to him.
He is so very unhappy, and he seems to think/believe that somehow it is my responsibility to make him happy. Dave (darling husband #3) thought/believed the same thing. And, for reasons I cannot explain, I do not agree with this way of thinking/believing. One person is not in charge of another person's happiness.
I have one of those hokey wood placques from the 1980s that has a "saying" on it that has hung somewhere around me since I acquired it in the 1980s. It has a picture of a sailboat on a calm lake --- very peaceful looking --- and the quote is: "your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself."
I really, truly believe that. Really.
Yet, one after another, I find myself involved with men who hold others accountable for whether or not they are happy.
I just don't get it.
Hey! I'm not happy right now because dh#4 was ranting and raving at me this morning about how unhappy he is in his life. He has to "put up with" my dog, my two cats, my birds, my children, my grandchild, me ... and all he wants is his "privacy." What exactly could this mean? Have I overlooked that he is anti-social? Do I recognize the behaviors of an alcoholic who blames everyone around him/her for the mistakes? How does it all fit together?
Perhaps I'm just not meant to be married. It seems that being married requires that one must give up one's identity. He wants me to become so immersed in his life that there is no place for what I care about, no room for my interests, no time for the activities I enjoy. I thought I was doing that. But, I guess not ...
How silly is this: he's jealous of my dog sitting on my lap. The dog is loyal and faithful and loves me as only a dog can do. My dog accepts me as I am, never asking for any more than I'm willing to give. And, my husband resents the attention I give to the dog. He also resents the way the dog follows me and is never more than a few feet away from me when I'm home. THIS is what he wants! Unfortunately, he's a man, not a dog. And, you just don't treat them the same way. The dog is a dumb animal, dependent on this human being for food and shelter. The man is not a dumb animal and should be independent, able to provide the essentials for himself.
DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE???
I've given my best. But, I know that sometimes in this life, even one's best is not enough.
I'm tired of being lonely. And, that's pretty much what I've been here lately.

the next day

I dunno.

This is like watching a TV show and being able to comment on the script. I see my granddaughter, who is street wise way beyond her 15 years, struggling to fit in with her dad and his rules. He took away her cell phone and she is on restriction for I don't know how long. He imposed these things because she lied to him, telling him she was one place when she was at another place. I asked him, "What can she do now that you've isolated her from everything? She cannot talk on her phone to her friends and she cannot go anywhere." I tried to lead him to understand that isolating her is not punishment. It's isolation. He is cutting her off from everything. No friends. No social interaction. No activity outside of school. And, it appears he's not providing her with any kind of companionship. How very lonely she must be ...

He's coming over tonight, to pick her up and take her home. I've asked him if we can talk together a little before they take off. Please let the wisdom of my age provide me with the words and actions that will serve them well.

Pretty please?