Left Behind

Because I spend quite a bit of time alone, I often don't realize how the world is leaving me a bit behind. Some of this is my own choice (texting) and some not. I can contribute nothing to a conversation on television programs for example. Last evening I turned on the set for Bruce, landing on Dancing with the Stars. My goodness, has this show been on for 12 years? The searches I did said it was the 12th season leading me to believe they possibly have several seasons a year? At any rate, I've now seen one of the top-rated shows.

I never meant to remove television from my life, it's just that I cannot tolerate commercials. Yes, there are some clever ones, however, the sheer number of mind numbing ones outweighs the handful of amusing ones. Of course, I suppose if I really was interested, I could learn how to eliminate them from the viewing experience. Again, I can barely operate a remote, let alone, skip commercials. Back to the show--Kirstie Alley needs a haircut big time! I also think she could benefit from a long gown instead of the silly costume she wore last night. Next up for me--watching my first episode of American Idol. When is that on anyway?

Rambling on....

Last week when I took this picture I had high hopes that within a month or so Bruce would have his very own Serrano peppers to eat:

Yesterday morning I discovered that the entire plant on the left was AWOL. Seriously, only a tiny bit of the stem was popping out of the soil! I'm totally puzzled. Squirrels perhaps? We've got them in the yard by droves. Apparently, whatever ate my entire plant is not impressed with thyme.

The first Monday of every month Leu Gardens has a free day. But you knew that didn't you? Anyway, I vacillated yesterday about going, finally heading over there after 3 in the afternoon. Very poor timing I know, but I went anyway. Almost all of the glory of last month was gone. No azaleas, camelias, or tabebuia blossoms. This little guy lugging the backpack almost as large as he is amused me on my way in:

I could not imagine why the smallest member of the group was carrying the pack! I will say that, last month, there was color everywhere except for the famous rose garden which was recovering from  winter pruning. This visit the color is beginning to return:

I've no idea what kind of plant it was, but the gorgeous shade of red in these leaves was one of the more interesting sights:

Speaking of tabebuia trees, I'd been dying to photograph this vintage chair belonging to one of our neighbors, finally getting the chance while walking Baxter yesterday morning. The fallen blooms are the result of those ferocious wind storms of last week.

Once again, we are having unseasonable storms today. Just as I was to be leaving for the museum, high winds and severe rain began. As such, I was about 15 minutes late which was absolutely no problem--two visitors during my entire shift! Can't say as I blame anyone for not wanting to head out for leisure in the crazy weather.

I titled one of my photographs, "Thoroughly Modern." Perhaps, I should take that to heart....

Post Script: I was so puzzled by the costumes on DWTS until I came across Outlandish Costumes.

Blessings

Originally this post was to tell you about Monday's short visit to Leu Gardens which is arrayed in all its spring glory, however, something unexpected happened which will take precedent. Yesterday afternoon while looking at some photographs on my computer I heard a loud thump outside. Thinking it came from my neighbor's home, I peered out my side window, seeing nothing. Walking down the hallway I immediately saw what caused the sound--a gigantic tree limb was laying in our side yard!

See our little Baxter on the left side of the tree, bewildered to say the least. As well you can see where it broke off next to the other large branches. To say that we were blessed that no one was injured during the fall is an understatement.

Imagine if you were house shopping, arriving at your destination, only to get out of your car and watch a massive tree limb fall right before your eyes. Well, that's exactly what happened! A lady was looking at our neighbor Chuck's house directly across the street on the Gem Mary side! She was shaken to say the least. The crash brought all the neighbors out to inspect the damage with one from the cul de sac behind us saying that for the last hour, while sitting on his back porch, he heard the cracking noise. He also witnessed the fall. Immediately he drove over to see if we needed help.

It landed between three pots of flowers, in front of the bench, with Grandma's gnome standing by watching the proceedings. So, not only was no one hurt, nothing material was hurt either! We were also blessed to have Orange County take care of the limb, which seems silly to say, because this limb is far larger than many, many trees. A small army of guys arrived with a big claw, dumpster, chipper, and lots of chain saws. They had the whole thing cleaned up in thirty minutes or so. One of the limbs that went underground with the impact was buried three feet! When they lifted the sections of the trunk after cutting them into manageable pieces, they said they weighed 1,000 pounds a piece! Now you know why I feel so amazingly blessed.

Sadly, however, it seems as if the whole tree will have to be removed because as the previous photo shows, the remaining two gigantic limbs hang directly over our home. I've never really worried about that before, but now I keep imagining one of those thousand pound limbs crashing into our living room, possibly crushing one of us, not to mention our little Baxter! As I type this, I'm waiting on the third estimate for removal. Oh how I dread the summer now without the shade of this magnificent oak to keep us cooler. Getting used to it's absence as far as a landscape addition seems possible, the shade factor not so much. The quotes so far are $2,800 and $1,800. Quite a spread, huh? I told the first guy that when I woke up yesterday morning I hadn't planned on spending nearly $3,000 the next day on taking something away from my life. There's also the matter and cost of a replacement tree AND a place to hang our beloved stag horn fern which has been with us since our first year of marriage. Yikes!

The third guy just phoned and will be here shortly so let's close this post with some images from Leu Gardens which again was absolutely spectacular. I'm particularly pleased with the darling child in the fallen blooms from the wildly vibrant yellow tabebuia tree.

Finally this image from a tree I've never seen before--a redbud.

Blessings, I'd say so!

Online or On Paper?

Recently when I told someone that I wrote a blog she asked, "what will happen to it?" At first I didn't understand the question, however, soon enough I realized she was wondering how I would preserve my online diary. Responding that I suppose I could print it out, which in truth seems rather daunting now that I think about it; the answer is I really don't know.

I hadn't thought too much more about that conversation until yesterday while I was reading Oscar Loveland's diary to Sylvie during our time together at the museum. Have I mentioned what a Godsend it is having her there? If not, I've been remiss. She is such an interesting woman, and we get along famously, which according to Karen (the curator) is not the case with all of her receptionists and docents. But I digress....
Sylvie was just as fascinated with the comings and goings of Oscar as I am, or at least she pretended to be. Seriously, as I read the day's entries aloud, she kept butting in, asking who is so and so. Naturally, I can't answer her because really what we are reading is a mystery story in the pages of a simple diary. Who are Pa and Ma? What exactly is the law suit all about, and who are all those people he personally subpoenaed? Why won't Maryanne settle things? Who is the baby, who by March weighs 14 1/2 pounds? How does one store 100 lbs. of flour purchased for $3.50? That's one thing I'm learning--the price of goods and services. He paid Samuel Cox $10 for a month's work, letting him go after the month was over. I'm also learning the rhythms of farm life; we are now into maple syrup season.

Here's what I'm thinking...because I'm learning about Oscar, I thought you might like to as well, so I'm going to post his entry for each day that I blog. For now the writing is not only in pencil on thin paper (changes to ink later in the year), but cramped as well, making it hard to read without extraordinary light. I'll call it Oscar's Corner, so here goes in his exact style:

I went over and got lens colt pa bought it and then went to Adams and got her shod for work I came back and went over home to carry over a letter to len I got two collars $2.50

Reading a diary that is 128 years old is good stuff as you'll soon see. So, I wonder if anyone could possibly be interested in my musings in the year 2138? Probably not.

Now let's get back to the present...

On Monday there was a rare occurrence, or at least of late, of lovely weather. I felt the need to take advantage of the free day at Leu Gardens, forgetting that these days it is a packed house, mostly moms and strollers. They gather in large groups, chatting with each other, while mostly ignoring their little ones except to chide them. This album is not so great I'm afraid, partly because I may have lost my mojo for now, and partly due to the effects of this miserable winter. I've captioned them if you care to look at it large. I did want to direct your attention to one sweet mom and her little boy, interacting with each other, unlike most of the mom groups! I've already ranted to Matt about this, so you've been spared this time.

After eating lunch, I tackled the pool which, as you can see, still has more leaves in it than on some trees, despite having already cleaned them all off the surface before taking this photograph. My gentle readers surely recall how our little dog, although mostly perfect, is not so much while I'm cleaning the pool, racing around the pool, barking like a mad man.
After filling half of a giant garbage can with leaves, I was returning for another go- round with Baxter at my heels. The next thing you know, he's tumbled into the deep end of the pool. Thankfully, I was able to rescue him by grabbing the harness he always wears. I'm here to tell you the water temperature is brutally cold! Here he is trying to dry off.

Fortunately, the sun was shining brightly and before long he warmed right up. You would think that he'd learn his lesson, however, I'm thinking he won't. According to Lisa, the wind speed was 32mph yesterday causing leaves to rain down; he'll have his chance to show what he's learned when the sun decides to make another appearance.

Poor Mr. Bruce! I'm sure I would go mad having to put up with traveling like he does. He always says it's the easiest part of his job which is sort of sad. I suppose travel issues are ones we can relate to--contractor, budget, weather, operations folks, unrealistic schedules, and other problems too numerous to relate--not so much. Leaving the house around 6 for a 7:30 flight to Atlanta, he called me around 2, relating that he was STILL in Atlanta. Numerous flights were canceled due to bad weather. Instead of arriving around 1, it was more like 6pm. A mostly wasted day on travel. On the other hand, Oscar would surely have been blown away if someone told him you could travel from Orlando to Iowa in less than a day, wouldn't he? Perspective, we must always keep that in mind.

More painting in store for today--
Listening to: The Killers - The World We Live In
via FoxyTunes

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Yes indeedy (is that a word?) it's cold! While Matt and Jonathan were here, it was chilly, making it not such a shock to return to their cold climes, although I'm sure this kind of weather,Britian is Frozen is not what Matt was hoping for!

The market yesterday was miserable once again--this week not the damp and cold combo, but the cold and cloudy combo, with nary a ray of sunshine to warm things up just a bit. Without the goodness of our indomitable project manager, I would have died, as would those other folks who huddled around the new spiffy heater he bought at Home Depot after setting up my display. It is SO nice to have a capable man around the house, not to mention sweet, handsome, kind--well, you get the picture! To some of my faithful readers 45 degrees does not seem all that cold but I'm here to tell them that being outside for eight hours in it is cold to this Floridian! (Remind me of this when I'm whining about the heat, will you?) Sales were slightly better than my last outing, however, this kind of start to the year was not what I was hoping for. Then again, it will make the next successful day all the more sweeter after tasting defeat....or so they say. :)

Which led to an extremely long winters nap for Mr. Bruce and your blogger. The cold just gets to my little body, and nothing short of a long slumber will revive it.
Which segued into a very early rising this morning. Just as the sun began to rise, I took this shot of the side of the house because, one, I don't think you've seen the new awning, and two, I know you haven't seen the revived bench under the staghorn fern. In case I neglected to mention it, I actually went through the seat on that one. Halloween night, we went outside to watch the kids; Mrs. Camera Crazy sat on the bench with the candy bowl. Well, I lied, that's not at all what happened. Mrs. CC attempted to sit on the bench, but instead, crashed through the slots onto the ground! We both agreed it was a darn good thing it happened to me rather than a guest. At any rate, PM extraordinaire made new slats, and painted the whole thing a springy green! Love it!


Forgive me for skipping all over the place today because next we go back in time to New Year's Day. Mostly we spent the day watching football and having this little snack around lunch time:Of course, the Bass Ale belonged to Mr. Bruce, as did the summer sausage. It's a holiday thing with him. The highlight of the day was seeing Bobby Bowden hold up the spear and then plunge it into the turf! I'm such a softie it made me cry. Speaking of tearing up, my mother in law shocked me by giving me the new Susan Boyle cd for Christmas, a gift I was sure one of my boys would have thought of. I finally listened to it whilst cleaning up the house on my birthday. Talk about a tearjerker! Her rendition of How Great Thou Art and Amazing Graceis stupendous!

Now where was I? Oh yes, the FSU game. What a treat to finally see them play at the level we were used to!

As for today, I will be the first to admit that I'm not so great at taking photographs with others around. For some reason I need my solitude. Although it was only 36 degrees, I made the short trek over to Leu Gardens this morning, arriving just after opening time. I was one of two people in the garden crazy enough to be out in the cold. You do remember that judge who told me to practice don't you? Well, practice I did with decidedly mixed results. I did see this little cutie upon arrival: The camellias are in bloom everywhere, with burst of white, pink, and deeper pink everywhere. They are especially beautiful because the leaves are such a deep shade of green, contrasting with their delicate petals. Tonight a freeze is in the forecast making me wonder how much damage I'll see on my next visit.

Today was Bruce's first day back at work; he's been home for nearly two weeks, a first for him. For all the years he's been with Darden, he's had so many jobs around the holidays, but not so much this year. It's back to the grind now...
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Listening to: Yeasayer - I Remember
via FoxyTunes

Reading Update

On Monday mid-morning I went over to Leu Gardens to see what was in bloom. Actually sometimes after a weekend of selling I am antsy to actually shoot pictures so because Monday mornings are free until noon I figured I'd go there. Arriving around 10ish, I found something I'd not encountered before, namely story hour which brought out mothers, strollers, and their children in droves. I parked in an overflow parking area which was cool because I was actually already in the gardens. Sweet. Anyway, I can't tell you the number of times I've photographed red hibiscus flowers only to be disappointed time and time again. I'm thinking my disappointment has been alleviated with this one. Reds are difficult for some reason.

After a quick lunch, I cleaned up a bit for my annual visit (or so I hope!) to City Hall for the calendar presentation. This year I'm Miss June. In this photo Paul and Junko Hennesy are viewing the board with all the submissions which after viewing them all I feel pretty lucky to be chosen. Paul has one of my favorite pictures in this year's calendar, but he didn't make the cut this year; Junko did. This nice couple came by my booth a few weeks ago to get reacquainted and were nice enough to come to the gallery show as well, which reminds me, it is coming to an end this week. As I expected, there were no sales....

What I really wanted to write about was reading Home, by Marilynne Robinson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for literature for the novel Gilead. I've linked you to a review by Tony Scott of the NYT which brought out some points that didn't occur to me while reading. First and foremost, this was a challenging book in many ways. It took me longer to read than most novels because the ideas are complex. The action, if you could call it that, takes place in the worn, rambling home of Reverend Boughton, the characters are primarily two of his grown children, Glory and Jack, who've returned to the family home for what appears on the surface as two different reasons, but I'm thinking maybe in the end they weren't so different after all. The story is not billed as a mystery, although it could be because the author only allows us to know bits and pieces of what's going on. As you know, I'm not very good with subtlety, making it all the more difficult to understand, let alone, tell you about. Ms. Robinson writes about spirituality with candor and insight, but in the end, she allows the reader to make their own conclusions. It's a book you won't easily forget.

Another excellent novel I've recently read is All the Living by C.E. Morgan. (For some reason every link I've tried to place here is not working for me) Set on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, Aloma and Orren find their way.

It would seem as if all I read are sad books, and mostly I do, but yesterday I picked up Eleanor Lipman's latest novel, The Family Man, which is like a sitcom after the previous two I've mentioned. She's very clever; if you've never read any of her books you might want to for a laugh.

I'm making two changes in my life, both for the better I hope. One is that I'm going to quit the Saturday market, secondly, I'm giving up our lawn service. For most of my life I've been a lawn mower, something I really do enjoy. The smell of fresh cut grass is so real; surrounded by manufactured scents everywhere, what with body washes, lotion, gels, sprays, oils and candles, we've mostly forgotten the real thing. You can add your own observations to that list I'm sure. Anyway, we are increasingly becoming a people accustomed to fakery, I want to reclaim just a bit of reality, not to mention that I've almost felt a sense of disconnect with my own yard since they've taken over. Bruce has discouraged this move because he's afraid I won't be up for it, however I'm willing to give it a good try.

Dear Sand Lake Market,
It's been almost a year now that I've done my best to be faithful to your mission, setting up my wares, smiling, chatting and hoping, against all odds, that people would come. They haven't. I wish you the best, and I sincerely hope in the future I'll hear reports that cause me to second guess this decision.
yours truly,
Gail

Today is the kind of day that causes people to move to Florida--blue skies and mild temps. Did I mention the windows are open? Keep it coming please.
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Listening to: LCD Soundsystem - Watch the Tapes
via FoxyTunes

Couldn't Wait Around for Vanna

Laura asked for a view of the new dining room, and what Laura wants, Laura gets. In this picture it seems almost comical that a half wall separates two dining tables--I just wanted to include Mr. Baxter!

I took the Nikon over to Leu Gardens to get the feel of it. May I just tell you that it is already HOT at 9 AM? Pulling up to the near empty parking lot, I noticed a semi and little else. I thought possibly the gardens were closed--that was not the case. The semi and a crew of around 100 were filming promo spots for Wheel of Fortune with Miss Vanna White doing the copy. I encountered numerous folks sporting the WOF lanyard , toting huge pieces of equipment; Vanna, however, remained out of sight to your reporter. Apparently, if I'd hung around longer, the next shoot was right near the exit, but as I say, it was hot and air conditioning beckoned.

Being the President is a pretty thankless job; you'd never know it though by the slug fest going on. Make them stop!

I'm not sure what I think of the Nikon yet. I wish I'd had my own camera today because I went to the arid garden which I'd never visited. Leu Gardens is quite a treasure for Orlando. The rose garden is one of the largest in the SE, a white garden, tropical garden, massive flower clock, home demonstration garden, and more. Have I already told you that David and Michelle's wedding reception will be held in the stately home on the property?

Okay, so back to the arid garden. Not only is there a Plumeria tree in bloom (flower used to make Hawaiian leis) but a Coral tree, native to Argentina, the gnarled trunk grows at a 45 degree angle to the ground with gorgeous, dangling, scarlet colored flowers; I'm not as confident with the loaner, consequently, the beauty may be hard to realize with the pictures I took.

My friend Kelly has a Canon Rebel XT which is on tap for tomorrow. I'm pretty lucky people trust me with their equipment. Just barely contemplating a DSLR--this way I can give both a real test. That said, I hate to get involved in the Canon/Nikon war. People are always asking what kind of camera I use; I proudly tell them I use a Panasonic. After all, Matt has one, and by now you know as well as I do that there is no reason to dispute Matt's picks--he's never been wrong as long as I can remember. A disclaimer though--he used to use a Canon.

Have I told you I think the B12 is helping? It seems incredible that a vitamin deficiency could have such negative effects on a body until you think about scurvy.

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Listening to: The Bees - Got To Let Go
via FoxyTunes

Summer Heat

To say that the market was hot as blazes, and slow as molasses, would be my mother's description. Those are certainly some old-fashioned terms now, aren't they? The good news is that they are giving us a buy one, get one free deal through the summer trying to get the vendors to hang in there during the slow time. Who can resist a deal like that I ask?

Fortunately, there was a native Orlandoan, about our age, that set up a table for the independent bookstore down the street. We had loads in common which we chatted about all the hot day long. We spent most of the money we made on:

• Two books, one a gift, one a new cookbook
• Lemonade
• Kettle Korn
• Diet Coke
• Cold Water
• Bar-b-que sandwiches
  
• Corn, red peppers, baby greens
  
• Grilled chicken for dinner
  

Probably something more which escapes me right now. I did make a new contact that might become a buyer. They live in the Sanctuary (new downtown condo), and were looking for two complimentary pictures of flowers in the same frame. They asked if I had more flowers than I was showing, I laughed. You bet I do. I've got hundreds of flower pictures!!!

To answer the question about what we did before computers is impossible. One thing I know for sure--it sure has made life easier in so many ways. One of the biggest, which I think encompasses so many areas, is that we are now so much more in control of our lives. We no longer have to read, or view, anything we don't want. It's the ultimate channel surfer for sure. All that said because I was able to put together a web album of flower pictures for them to view at their leisure while sitting in air-conditioning! That should put anyone in a good frame of mind!

Our new market manager asked me if I might take some photos of the market; naturally I had to get a few patrons, as pictured above.

Even when it is hot I still drink lots of hot tea, however, today I managed to leave the tea kettle on high for way too long. It has never had a good whistle, and of late it has been hit, or miss. Today it was miss, and a new kettle must be purchased before tomorrow. I can't abide tea with microwaved water.

I scooted over to Leu Gardens this morning and I now have even more flower pictures.