Hmmm....

Remember I mentioned that I was worried about Corrine? Well, Sunday and Monday's events validated my concerns. Returning from setting me up at the market, Bruce was flagged down by Herb asking if he was strong. Does the sun come up every day? Yes, he answered, he could help. Apparently Corrine collapsed in their bedroom and was wedged between the wall and the bed. Walking into the bedroom, Bruce was greeted by Corrine in only her underpants. Herb answered Bruce's question about covering her up by saying they were too old to be worried about that. Later, when I was just backing into the driveway from the market, I saw Herb helping her out of the car. She needed it! Shuffling at a snail's pace, I rushed across the street to help. Not only was her color bad, she was very, very weak. Why they went to the grocery store together, I'll never know. To refresh your memory of these nice folks:

I took this for practice about two years ago after buying a news lens. She is much smaller these days. Anyway, after returning from a walk with Baxter yesterday morning, I went to take their recycling bins up from the curb. Seeing me through the window, Herb opened the door.

"Where's Corrine?" I asked. 

"She's on the bathroom floor", he replied. 

"Well now, what's she doing there?"

"She collapsed again."

Indeed she had. I found her, lying naked on her back, without her hearing aids, and disoriented. Covering her with a sheet from their bed, I asked Herb if he'd called 911. Yes, he had. Soon thereafter they came, taking her to the hospital, but not before I found a "duster", as my mom used to call them, to cover her nakedness. 

I'll tell you what, few things make me as mad as people working in healthcare who have NO business doing so. I know, I know, it's a stable job, but if you don't have compassion, do something else! It was all I could do not to give the woman paramedic a piece of my mind! According to Herb, whom I spoke with around 6, her blood pressure was so low it was causing her to collapse. Why that is happening, I don't know, however, I don't think it's good. Only time will tell. 

Following that situation I went to the hospital to visit Roger who is still there, resting fairly comfortably, until the blood thinner he's taking does it's thing. Before I arrived, he had horrible coughing fits which actually made him feel better. Trish is sleeping on an air mattress, having not left the hospital since his arrival by ambulance in the wee hours of Friday morning. They are making him wear this:

My poor collapsing friends!

David called while I was there asking if I could give Michelle a ride to pick up her car which, of course, I agreed to. Actually I took her over to Dave's office on Park Avenue so he could take her. On my way home I stopped first at Mead Gardens, a place I've not visited in a while. It just so happens to also be the place that my brother Pat married his lovely wife Ruth. Because it was hot as the dickens by now, with humidity promising to bring out the mosquitoes, I didn't stay too long, but I did stay long enough to see some butterflies, a gigantic grasshopper, and some mallard ducks. As well, they have this amazing wrought iron surrounding the outdoor stage:

Actually, while trying to take the back way into the gardens, I got a little lost in a neighborhood. Maybe I've told you before, maybe not, but Winter Park is big money my friends, with loads of gorgeous old Spanish style homes like this one next to a tiny, lot-sized park I discovered:

I wouldn't mind living there at all.

Driving down Mills Avenue the other night on our date I saw some colorful chairs alongside the road. Yesterday I decided to stop and see what was what. Armed with my camera, I realized they were placed at our notoriously, seating free, bus stops. No clue who did them, or if it was a collaborative project, but here's one of them with what looks like a weary traveler who, for some reason, isn't using it:

Could he have objected to the flower on top?

There is a lot of color on Mills, making it an interesting place to photograph, albeit a little difficult what with all the traffic:

Just letting you know, I'd planned on writing last evening, however, my computer is giving me fits again causing me to quit in frustration. I told Roger yesterday that he'd better get well soon because I need his help!  

Now, on to some exciting news--if you can believe it,  Top Chef is coming to the Market!!! 
Indeed, they will be there on June 5th for three tapings. This could go either way for the vendors; a huge crowd with no buyers, or the opposite, a huge crowd with new buyers! Let us hope for the latter.
The weather was ridiculously hot for this time of year, which made for a very long day. Folks came out in the morning, but who could blame them for not wanting to do so in the afternoon?

Finally, two weeks ago I purchased some caladiums to replace these petunias; I was certain they would be worn out by now, however, aren't they still gorgeous?

Must be that pruning I gave them last month! Randy Knight, from the Polasek, taught me that trick. That reminds me, after quite a few years, RK, is moving on. The gardens won't be the same without him.

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This Australian black swan is like me--a sleepy head. Got about nine hours last night!

It has surely been a summer of celebrity deaths hasn't it? My goodness. The latest, of course, is Frank McCourt. I was a huge fan of Angela's Ashes; I only wish I could remember how I came to read it. Knowing how much I admired him, Jonathan sent me a link to this: Memories. I can only imagine the fond memories former students would write about my infamous sister-in-law, Judy. Those who know her know just what I'm talking about! Through the years, because we share the same last name, I've heard so many wonderful comments about her--"although I got a D in her class, she was my favorite teacher," "she was such an influence on my life," "hardest and funniest teacher I ever had," to name just a few that come to mind. This has gone on for over thirty years! I even met a young man at the convention I did in October who had her back in the 80's, he told me how much he loved her. Judy and Mr. McCourt share a few things--both are Irish, Catholic, and witty. One thing they don't have in common is sentence diagramming expertise, a skill that Mr. McCourt seems to have lacked. Judy, on the other hand, can diagram like it's a competition sport! She's finally having a summer to herself--maybe she'll start writing.

Oddly enough Maureen called yesterday afternoon hoping I'd remember a book we both read a while back. She reminded me that x-rays were part of the plot. Although I couldn't remember the name of it, I did remember that photography was also featured in the novel. Wracking our brains together did nothing, however, after we hung up she did a little searching, coming up with the name, Evidence of Things Unseen. If you didn't read it the first time I blogged about it try doing so now. So what pray tell, aside from plugging the novel again, am I getting at? Well....just the other day I was considering how much all my years of taking x-rays has helped my photography. Jokingly, when people ask how long I've been a photographer, I answer, "most of my life, I just used bigger equipment!" Which is actually true. I learned how to look at things in a three dimensional way which I think helps my compositions. When x-raying, say a wrist, you take three different views showing how the same subject takes on a totally different look, something I try to do with what I'm photographing these days. I learned about contrast, particularly with mammograms. Exposure time--in today's cameras, ISO. You get the picture.

It has been a while since I've passed on a household tip hasn't it? I'm rectifying that as of today! Baby wipes apparently are just as good, if not better, than a stain stick. A shirt I tried on at JCrew had makeup on the front which the clerk removed in a jiffy with a baby wipe. Obviously it wasn't my makeup because once again I went out looking like a hag. That, of course, is beside the point. They tell me it works miracles for all sorts of clothing mishaps.

Speaking of mishaps, my external hard drive has essentially eaten my iPhoto library. Sad, but true. I spent nearly two hours with Apple support folks this afternoon confirming what Matt already suspected. I would be crying if not for Picasa which copied loads of my pictures (lots, and lots of terrible ones I might add); as well Roger has nearly 500 images of mine, much to his amazement. When we began working together he never dreamed I would try and sell so many different images! He has a backup system times three so I think those are safe and sound.

Jonathan gave Bruce three months of movies on Netflix for Father's Day, which has been very interesting. Bruce's que has included some really terrible movies, one of which garnered a 5%, yes I wrote 5%, on Rotten Tomatoes. I watched for about fifteen minutes, bitterly complaining the whole time, and then looked it up on RT. It was one with Mandy Moore and Diane Keaton, the title of which I've promptly forgotten due to the utter stupidity of the movie. Anyway, when I sent Jonathan an email telling him about it, he hardly believed that a movie had that low a rating. When I saw it made me laugh much harder than my fifteen minutes with the movie! I'm urging him to rethink the queue!

Time to reformat the hard drive--I hope I can pull this off by myself!

All is Not Lost

Panic time this morning around 8 AM EST. My entire photo library disappeared from my computer-- the screen said 0 photos. Now what? Apple does not open until 6 Pacific time; you can imagine I was not keen on waiting. I had just completed a disc for my printer, moving on to make a disc for the market website, when I discovered that I had nothing to work with. Thank God Matt was off today and happened to be online. I sent him a little chat describing my situation. He took control of my computer from London looking for the missing photos. It appeared that even he was stymied but with some sleuthing he discovered a forum that described the same problem. He followed the instructions, voila--they are back. Now that a back up has been completed I need to do something else to complete the process. Yikes--bad way to start the week!

Rain finally made an appearance at the market yesterday afternoon. It is really surprising that this is the first time all summer that we have had a storm as I've mentioned before we typically get rain every afternoon. Mr. Bruce was able to keep all the pictures dry; we waited out the storm before packing up. Our garage is the drying out spot now for the display parts with three fans blowing like nobodies business. A pleasant surprise yesterday was seeing Liza's aunt and uncle. Liza is one of Matt's dearest friends, they met each other in sixth grade and have been very close ever since. Her family is all delightful. They came to the market for a stroll and left with two of my pictures!

Did I mention I've decided to enter an art festival? Baldwin Park is a planned community on an old Navy Base site. They've built a downtown with pricey residences surrounding it. I noticed the ad in a little paper I was reading at the museum and thought if they would have me I'd give it a go. It is Saturday, October 6, so early enough in the semester that I won't be too panicked. I called Dave and asked if he would work the booth while I do my museum stint on Saturday and his reply: "I'll sell the heck out of your stuff Mom."