It Would Have Been a Beautiful Day

to go to Anclote Key for the lighthouse open house.  Butch dropped Trish and me at the kiosk on the docks and headed on back home to finish getting the tree and decorations out of the attic.  Trish forgot a hat so we crossed the street and bought visors.  When we got in line at the kiosk, there was obviously some kind of complication.  Apparently the boat that was to take us out to the island had lost its stirring and was marooned.  They would have to be towed in to the dock.  So I called Butch and he came back to the docks to get us.

We dropped Trish back at home in Pointe Alexis and on the back to our place, we took a detour through our "attitude adjustment," which is known to others as Fred Howard Park, a Pinellas County beach park.  And what would have been a lovely day for the boat ride became a lovely day for a ride through the park.  The following pictures were taken from the passenger side window as we rode through the park and out the causeway to the beach.

And when we got home, we got the rest of the stuff out of the attic and put the tree in its stand.  I got no further when the first light strand I picked up wouldn't light.  I decided it could wait until this morning.  And I tackled it after THREE cups of coffee to fortify me.  In less than an hour, I was swearing like a sailor and had a blister on my right index finger from trying to pull those blasted little bulbs out of their sockets to test them in a working string.  Butch saw the injury, told me to go bandage it, and then took over.  We never did get that string working.  I did, however, get others working and after a couple of hours, the lights were on the tree.

I stopped for a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry.  Just to calm my nerves which were about shot.  I had a little dog "dogging" my every step.  I had stepped on him twice.  He was already upset because we had moved his bed and put the tree where his bed is supposed to be,  He kept trying to walk under the tree to find his bed even though we had shown him where it was a dozen times.

Next came the strings of pearls, my Victorian dolls and other lacy ornaments, and then the crystal and Hummel ornaments.  Then all the glass and porcelain.  And, VOILA!  A decorated tree.  I didn't have one last year because my surgeries prevented me from being able to do the bending and lifting; and I told Butch he didn't have to try to do it for me in addition to everything else he had been doing for me.  So this year, I am doubly glad to have it up.

Soooo...I will leave it up until after Epiphany.  After Christmas, I will buy a new, pre-lit tree and this tree which just turned 25 years old will be discarded.  And all the new tree and the decorations will be stored in a closet as I had some anxious moments watching my husband climb a 6 ft. ladder to climb up into the attic.  Apparently, he needs to access a different part of the attic instead of the area he can get to with the pull down staircase in the garage.  I didn't ask the obvious question.  I wasn't looking for a fight.  I was just happy to have the stuff down safely.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The "Eyes" Have It!

I saw a picture of a lab on FB today that was just eyes peaking over the edge of a sofa or bed or something.  It made me think of Beau and the many pictures I have taken of him.  Sometimes you can see his eyes really well.  Other times, you may to search for them because he's a little scruffy.  That is when I really love his look.

Here he is freshly groomed.  And looking quite handsome.

Here he is a tad scruffy.  This is where he waits for us for his "nite nite" treat.  That is the intent look on his little face.

This makes me laugh every time I see it.  These are the rungs of "his" coffee table.  This is his favorite place to watch my husband -- or to watch TV.  It upsets him greatly when visitors come and sit on the couch and put their feet in "his" spot.  Ask Eileen.

I will look up from my Kindle or laptop sometimes because I feel someone staring at me.  And it is always Beau.  Looking just like this.  It is his, "You need to pay attention to me...NOW," look.  I take it seriously.  Just after I finish laughing.

This is my beautiful boy just after I have brushed him out.  I love his silky hair AND he doesn't shed!

Occasionally he will sneak up on me when I am napping on the couch.  This is what I see when he wakes me up.  It's his, "I'm ready for dinner," look.

This is his wild puppy look.

I think he loves me.

This is his "Prince of the Manor" look.  Winter coat.

And this is my favorite.  That look of absolute adoration is for my husband whom he loves without reservation.  And those feelings are returned many times over.

And all of these pictures have that one thing in common whether groomed or not.  His eyes are so expressive.  He shares that trait with every other dog alive, I think.  It tears me up to think of how he was abused before we adopted him almost  8 years ago.  He is eleven now, we think.  Still like a puppy in so many ways, but he sleeps a little longer these days.  He's happy, healthy and comfortable in his safe and loving environment.  I get so upset when I see those stories almost every day about dogs and cats and the abuse they suffer.  I cannot understand how anyone can abuse these loyal and loving creatures the way they do.  There has to be something major lacking in their souls.

Those eyes are looking at me now.  It's time to give him his "nite nite" treat and tuck him in for the night.

I drove into the driveway yesterday afternoon and saw what is, I think, a pair of ibis sitting in the oak tree over our house.  I took this photo a couple of months ago but they have come back many times.  They are so neat to watch.  They always travel together and visit several times a week.  If anyone knows what they are, please let me know.  I thought they might be storks but the beak is hooked so that made me think ibis.

The winter skies here are so gorgeous.  It got to 79 today and we have the house open tonight.  No humidity to speak of and so very comfortable.

I don't mind the summer weather here, but for those who do, we have very reasonable condos down here right now.  Buy one of them and spend 4 or 5 months wherever you live.  Good tax situation here for a primary residence and there are a lot of nice ones for sale. ;-)

Shopping

Shopping.  Sometimes I hate it.

I don't hate ALL shopping.  Obviously.  I love wandering around an office supply store or Hobby Lobby.  I can spend hours and never realize the time.  I love gadgets.  I love pretty, crafty things.  I love making stuff.  And, of course, painting.

And I really don't mind grocery shopping.  I like to cook.  I like food.  Too much.  So a trip to Sweet Bay or Publix is not an issue for me.  And I take my time.  I like to browse and always keep an eye out for new stuff.

I think I see a theme developing here.  As long as shopping contributes to something creative, I like it.

And, there are certain shops at the docks that call to me every so often.  They have cute, creative clothes and jewelry.  They are comfortable clothes that I love wearing everyday.

Today I am getting ready to do the type of shopping that I really HATE.  I'll be looking for something a little more dressy to wear on Saturday for an annual meeting and luncheon.  That kind of shopping I despise because I am looking for something fairly specific.  That is no fun whatsoever.  I probably will not find anything I like and come home empty handed, ending up wearing something I have had forever.

BUT,  I'll probably find some new shoes!  I always find shoes I like at Beall's.  Maybe I'll hit that department first so the rest of the shopping has more of a positive slant.

And I don't Christmas shop anymore.  I give gift cards and/or make something for my family and friends.  Except for my husband.  So, I guess, I'll try to find something for him while I'm out today, too.  For Christmas and for his birthday. Arrrgh....  He has everything he wants.  We both buy whatever we want when we see it.  So we are very difficult to shop for.  Maybe I just need to do a painting for him.

Let's see how today goes.

Happy Monday.

It's Only Just Begun...

the Holiday Season, that is.

And our year is fast drawing to a close.  Where did it go?  I no sooner finish a treasurer's report for the Friends of the Library and it is time to do another!  Now it will be the special one for the annual membership meeting next Saturday, December 1.  It has been a good year for our organization.  The book sales have been good and our investments show a nice gain since the first of the year.  That bodes well for a nice donation to our library at year end.

I was pleased to see that one of our local cities in Pinellas County is actually building a lovely new library.  We have been crying, "Save our libraries!" for so long that it was surprising to see.  I am hoping to see the day that we can expand our own beautiful library.

My friend, Eileen, posted this cartoon to my FB timeline this morning.  I love it.

Neat, huh?  Our libraries offer so many ways to enrich our lives these days.

When was the last time that you were in yours?

Four More Years

No, this isn't going to be a rant.

It is a simple phrase, "four more years."

And it can have good or bad connotations.

President Obama has four more years to find a way to work with the other party and get us on the right track.

Congress has done nothing good in the last four years and most of them are returning for at least two more years.  They DON'T have years to learn to work with one another.  The old congress has less than two MONTHS to take care of very important business.  If they do not, we will all be in deep doo-doo on January 1, 2013.

I voted for Mitt because he has had the ability to accomplish things in an environment controlled by the opposite party.  I felt we needed that right now.  And he did not disappoint me in his concession speech. Mitt said it well last night:  "We look to Democrats and Republicans at all levels to put the people before the politics." 

To that end, I have sent congratulatory emails to Senator Nelson (D) and Congressman Bilirakis (R), both of whom I voted for.  Nelson knows better than most that being able to work with those across the aisle is critical for the People.  After congratulating him, I asked him to continue to endeavor to be a "voice of reason" in the Senate.  And, my email to Gus Bilirakis, who got my vote because his opponent was not at all impressive (to put it kindly,) said essentially the same thing except I asked him to please stop trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act.  To try to work with the other party to find solutions to changing the parts that need to be changed.  He is a good man, like Bill, who cares about people.  We see the results of that caring around Tarpon Springs every day.  

And I reminded both of them that they are not "lame ducks" as they go back to work in Washington and that there are important things that need to fixed by December 31.  Congress will largely be the same after this election.  They bear responsibility for the gridlock they are in and only they can decide how to break the gridlock and get things done for the American People who have reelected this president. This president,  who still needs to accomplish what he promised four years ago.

Congratulations to the winners who now need to make us all winners.

November Over the Years

I love November.

It is my favorite month.

Not just because of the weather change for us Floridians, although that is a prime reason, but because twenty years ago yesterday we made a move that took us a long way from family and friends.  My company was transferring me to Florida as we were being spun out of Baxter Healthcare with a highly successful IPO as Caremark, Inc.  I would eventually leave Caremark to work as a health care consultant while I completed my degree at Eckerd College, graduate with high honors, return to corporate life with ICCA, Inc. and then Lincare, Inc.

I have been retired for a little over 9 years now.  And I still "work" every day.  I "work" as a volunteer with the Friends of the Library and the Woman's Club of Tarpon Springs.  My husband thinks I work harder now than when I was being paid.  I don't think so.  Maybe because, in my eyes, what I do now is so worthwhile.

So every October I think back to the excitement of getting ready to move to Florida twenty years ago and the freedom that retiring brought me 9 years ago.  I like that word. Freedom.  That is what retirement meant to me -- and still does.  I finally had the time to read as much as I want to and to explore those things I always said I would like to try.

Reading.  My first love.  And there is nothing like taking a beach chair out to Howard Park Beach or to Sunset Beach and sitting under a tree with a good book in my lap.  Of course, things have changed in that regard.  I still go but not as often because I am busy.  And when I go, it is a Kindle DX full of books in the Amazon archive which is now my TBR pile.  They gather no dust while they wait for me to read them.

Once I had caught up on my reading for pleasure and gotten through the holiday season that winter of 2003-2004, I decided to take a painting class.  And I was hooked.  I painted every day for months.  It is still something I love to do several times a week.  I started with acrylics and still enjoy them but I see watercolor as a challenge and love the unpredictability of that medium.  So much of that work is in the nature of "happy accidents."

The volunteer work gets in the way of doing as much of this as I would like, but it also gives me a chance to paint for a cause as well.  This month we will be having our Art Mart which is held every November to raise money to fund a scholarship for an outstanding art student at our local high school.  I typically sell hand painted cards and bookmarks so I have been working on them the past month or two.

And I am working on a project for the Tarpon Springs Woman's Club annual charity fashion show.  We're decorating gift bags and making cards and bookmarks for the guests at the luncheon on March 23.  Everyone will go away a winner.

This project gives me a chance to use the photos I have taken for the past 25 years.  Photography was my first love and remains an important part of everything I do.  I've discovered that my cellular phone makes an incredibly convenient camera!

I'll bet some of my friends thought I would be writing about Thanksgiving.  Nope.  It's just a day.  I am so very thankful every day for everything in my life.  Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for her generosity.  ;-)

I guess I am trying to make up for the time I have spent away from this blog.  I've spent enough time here today.  I need to go work on something in my little studio.

Three more days....

I was beginning to think this political campaign would never end.  I have had a hard time keeping my lips zipped.

I think my husband and I have probably canceled out each other's vote on a couple of offices.  But we don't argue politics.  We know it is useless to try to change the other's opinion.

He's a former union guy.

I'm a former business manager and "numbers" person.

We will naturally disagree.

That's okay.

It's what we call democracy.

Whoever wins has a huge job ahead of him and neither one can blame Bush now.

Making cards is a lot of fun

Yesterday, we had our first art workshop.  The focus was creating greeting and note cards which will go into gift bags for the folks who attend our charity fashion show next Spring.  There were 8 of us yesterday and we made 60 cards similar to these.

All of these used photos I printed out from my computer this past weekend.  I made three of the cards.  The card on the far left is a card someone else made using my photo of the Portland Head Light in Portland, Maine.  The other three photos are from my 2000 trip to Maui.  They are in cellophane so the camera couldn't really catch a true image of how pretty they are.  My hubby saw them before I bagged them and said he felt they are so good that we should be selling them as a fund raiser.

Hmmmm.  There's a thought.

We had soooo much fun yesterday.  Lots of bright ideas filling the room as we sorted through pretty papers and photos, ribbons and stamps, paper punches and other embellishments.  So now we only need another 200 cards!

No problem.  Next up:  An arts and crafts table at the Annual Fun & Games Day where people will be learning to do paper quilling and how make fabric flowers. And maybe some more cards!

We'll "get 'er done!"

Lots of time and several more workshops planned!

Wednesday is usually a busy day

Wednesday is usually a busy day for me.  Today I have a Friends of the Library Board meeting.  It isn't until 4, but in my usual fashion, I left the reports until this morning to do.  They are all done now so I can relax until time to leave for the FOL Building.

Next Wednesday is the Woman's Club monthly membership meeting.  It is being held at a new venue this year so I'll leave a little early to get the "lay of the land."  I am handling the "Dollars for Scholars" drawings this year so I have to lug the spinner, rolls of tickets, baskets, etc to every meeting.  I will add the Fashion Show marketing stuff to that load next month.  I have a little milk crate cart of my own and a larger one that belongs to the club.  I'll be dragging both of them behind me. ;-)

I didn't work in the Friends' book store on Monday so I'm going to leave a little early and spend a couple of hours doing that before the meeting this afternoon.  We have had a lot of donations recently.  I still have to write a couple of articles for "Among Friends," our newsletter but I'm not in the mood for that today.

And I received my mail-in ballot for the November election in yesterday's mail.  I am DEFINITELY NOT in the mood to deal with that.  Depressing, really depressing choices for most offices including the Leader of our Nation.  I have made up my mind on only one race -- the Senate race.  I may give it a couple of weeks before I complete it to allow for some kind of earth shattering development in the other races.....but I won't hold my breath.  Mediocrity seems to be the prime prerequisite for holding office these days.

Now I have managed to depress myself.  Need to get busy with something to change my mood.

Happy Hump Day!

Love My Tuesdays!

I was able to finish 5 more card sets and extra bookmarks the last couple of evenings.  I meant to do some more today, but decided to clean out the fridge and do a little cooking while I was at it.  This card set was my favorite of the group I just did.  I am starting to get my brush strokes back. ;-)

I did a few palms, too.

And then a little whimsical one to use up the palette I set up for the first card set.

I love Tuesdays.  I usually am at home all day and can get a lot accomplished around here.

And I really did want to do some more painting today, but I decided to do a little more complex cooking today.

We're going Greek tonight!

I have an old recipe for Greek Lemon Chicken that I am preparing for dinner tonight along with Fasolakia (Greek Green Beans.)  This place smells wonderful right now.  Beau even smells good.  He had a shower a little while ago with Butch.

AND, tonight is my favorite TV night of the week.  Both NCIS's - back to back.  Love it! Tuesdays are GOOD.  Hope yours has been, too.

Yesterday Was a Good Day

Actually, most of my days are good....pretty much ALL of them.  Butch and I really love our life together at this stage of our lives.  As he likes to say, "I do my thing, Sherri does hers, and then we do something together."

Yesterday was one of those days.  He got started early with the lawn and then moved on to "Butchering" (my word for his pruning technique) the "ficus elastica" -- rubber tree -- that would over grow our whole house if he let it.  Beau loves that tree because it is home to a million little lizards.  Well. maybe not really a million, but too many to count, anyway.  It also provides a shady, sandy area where he can lie down and wait for the squirrels to come out to play.  The leaves are huge on the rubber tree.  It screens the large window in the dining room and affords us a lot of privacy and keeps the afternoon sun off that room.

"Ficus Elastica"

I have digressed.  But, this tree has fascinated me since we moved in here over 19 years ago.  I could not resist talking about it.  Half of the tree is bundled up and sitting at the curb for yard waste pickup tomorrow.  I was really upset the first time he "pruned" that tree.  I thought for sure he had killed it.  But after 19 years, I have come to realize that nothing he does to this thing will kill it.  The weather here in central west Florida is perfect for it.  Within a week, it will be sprouting more branches from where he has just cut it back.  Reminds me of the pyracantha fire thorn we had on the side of the house in Midlothian, Virginia.  Nothing would kill it either.  I liked that plant/tree, too.

Pyracantha Fire Thorn

Oh, my.  I am all over the place with this post! I need to get back on track here.

While he worked in the yard, I did a little housework. Damn little.  And then made a grocery list because we were out of breakfast Cesars for Beau.  We could eat peanut butter sandwiches, but the D-O-G needs to have his preferred breakfast.  Then I thought about my friend, Dolores, and the "Shutterbug" basket she is putting together to raise money at the "Fun & Games Day" the Woman's Club is holding at the Heritage Center later this month.  I had promised her a card and bookmark.  I also had a very pretty faux stained glass wine glass and a picture frame decorated in shells. So I wrapped them carefully and grabbed the card and bookmark I had decided upon -- my favorite of those I painted the other day.

There is just something about this particular set that I really liked.  I am hoping whoever wins the basket will really like them, too.

I kissed Butch's sweaty face (only a woman still truly in love would do that) and headed for Dolores and Bob's place, conveniently located just off Meres on my route to Sweet Bay and the dog food.  Dolores was having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as Bob let me and my treasures into the house.  She stopped and insisted I sit awhile so we could catch up.  I hadn't seen her since the tea.  I have no idea how long I was there, but it was quite awhile.  She probably had to make herself a fresh sandwich after I left. Ha. Ha.

Grocery shopping done, I pulled into the garage around 2:30 with a car loaded with food for us as well as for Beau.  After repackaging the meat and putting everything away, I changed clothes and started to paint again.  I finished four more sets of cards and bookmarks including an extra bookmark of each designwhich will be sold or given away separately.

After dinner, I punched the holes in the bookmarks and added tassels and packaged them in cellophane bags.  I showed them to Butch.  He said he liked them all but the last two were his favorites. "Where did you get the idea?"  "I don't know.  I probably saw some loose flowers piled somewhere."  He smiled and hugged me.  The smile said it all.

As I said, yesterday was a good day.  Today will be even better.  We do our thing together all day today.  If I do any painting it will be in the art nook just off the great room where I can watch the race with him.  He'll have the Sunday paper in his lap and continue to read interesting articles out loud as he comes across them.

And, Beau?  He thanked me for getting a new supply of his breakfast Cesar meals.  Cesar, the breakfast of little champions. ;-)

Back at It

I am at the point that I can do more painting.  That's a good thing since there are events coming up that I need to do things for.  We have the annual Art Mart at the Woman's Club.  A portion of all artists' sales goes to the scholarship awarded to a Tarpon Springs art student each Spring.  I give all of my sales less supply expense to the scholarship fund.  I missed this last year because of my surgery so I am really looking forward to being involved this time.

I did four cards and envelope sets today along with coordinating bookmarks.

  

I love roses and cone flowers and started with those to help me get my brush strokes back.  As I have said before,  if I don;t use it, I lose it.  Painting for some people may come very easily and naturally.  It does not for me.  I have to work at it and I have had a lapse of about a month now.  Not a good thing.  I will do better.