Sound of Silence

Wednesday evening, Michael, Angela's 15 year old son came over to the house to use my computer for his homework, staying about three hours in total. Ordinarily, I don't even notice the silence of our home, mostly because my brain is usually filled with so much noise, the silence around me seems normal. Somehow when there are two people in the house, the silence seems magnified. Because Bruce has been traveling so darn much when in Orlando, he's been working from home, most of the time with his little 13" television, mounted above his work station, going from morning to night. Rarely does he watch it, he just likes the noise. I, on the other hand, don't like the noise. I'm constantly telling him it's a distraction which is so girl-like. Always trying to tell the men what to do! Note to self: deal with it!

I told you that Bruce has big plans for our landscaping, what they are just yet, I'm not sure about, however, he's begun making a bed, bordering it with bricks.

Yesterday the guys who planted the tree were putting in a big palm one street over so while Baxter and I were on our morning walk, I asked him to come by and make sure the tree was thriving. He did and it is. The good news is that I can cut back to watering once a day which pleases me greatly, particularly after getting the water bill this week!

Have you, like me, been hearing news reports about the declining bee population? I'm not sure where they get the statistics to back up their claims but I know for sure it's not in my yard! Although I'm showing you a monarch hanging from the Chinese Tallow tree, I had to dodge hundreds of bees to get this shot:

Adjacent to my clothes line, last Friday I was sure that I'd be a victim of a bee sting being a bug magnet and all. I was once again awoken by a pesky mosquito last night; the constant threat of another bite kept me awake for far too long! The rain I wrote about yesterday never materialized so I got lots of yard work done, enough so that I was worn out by 9 last night.

Every now and again I check the statistics on my blog, seeing what people are reading and where they come from. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that people from all over the world stumble onto me, no doubt by mistake. In any case, I saw a post from near this time last year which I re-read. It was then that it hit me to see what was happening this time last year. The zebra chair is what was happening. I'm still madly in love with that chair. As well, I was being interviewed by the Lakeland Ledger for the upcoming Mayfaire.   "Dear God, please don't let it be as hot this year. "

Did I ever have fun this morning playing bridge. One of the ladies mentioned that one of her New Year's resolutions was to meet new people. Although that was not one of mine, mostly because I never make them, I'm delighted to be a part of this group. Each and every one of the ladies are special in their own way. I was driving Allison crazy this morning because I insisted that some of the things we learned were guidelines, she insists they are rules. Every week our play time gets longer and longer.

Bruce just returned finally! I've got the television tuned to BBC America until the Magic game tonight. I know absolutely nothing about Prince William and Kate Middleton; I need to get up to speed for my 5AM wake up call tomorrow. Angela is fixing a proper English breakfast, albeit without crumpets because Publix had the nerve to be out of them. Undoubtedly, tea will flow like water. Wish me luck getting up that early to watch the festivities!