Just Couldn't Wait

And with the weather as hot as it's been, the question was really--why wait? So I didn't.

Seriously, imagine going through all that and waiting till April to try it out. After planting a few pots, which by the way are gorgeous French handmade glazed pots, I was so hot I decided to take the plunge. Bad pun, huh?

The water was actually wonderful. Temperatures here are still hovering near 90, making a refreshing dip in the pool irresistible. What I'm figuring is that because the ground water is still pretty warm the pool is as well. I took this on Monday afternoon, and if David hadn't phoned asking me to pick him up at the airport, I would have gone in again yesterday after trimming the palms. Today, with record high temperatures predicted,  you just might find me swimming again. My apologies if you're reading this somewhere that is already sweater weather.....

We're taking full advantage of having a back yard once again, dining outside under the flashy new umbrella:

Isn't that a lovely glow? If we were crazy we would put the umbrella on the flashing mode to go along with the "Voodoo Lounge" setting on the pool light.

I forget what color they call this one because there are multiple settings, maybe 12 different ones? Anyway "Voodoo Lounge" flashes the color spectrum quickly. I'm not sure I'm making sense describing  it, but I can tell you we are happy to once again have a light in the pool, whatever the color. Looking closely you can see the leaves are already starting to fall. What you can't tell from this photograph is that there is not one, not two, not just three, but FOUR of those baby frogs clinging to the tile. I'm not quite sure where they are coming from--what I do know is that I'd prefer they go back to where they came from. Even after removing them, they seem to find their way back in. Hmmmm......

One theory is that with the extra watering because of the new plants they are being driven from their place in the beds. The water is also drawing some little finches out front--when the sprinklers go off they gather on the front walk and in the bushes:

Adorable huh?

Today is my sister Nancy's birthday. I was thinking that when we were growing up our different ages  meant something, which I suppose they really do, but as one grows older I just sort of feel like we're all the same age. Weird.

In just a bit I'm driving Angela to her post-op visit again. She's doing remarkably well aside from the fact that she can't drive. She normally flits in and out all day long making the non-driving part of this operation the worst part!

I was swamped with visitors at the Polasek yesterday--if you can imagine. 25 to be exact!

Finally, for my readers with a sweet tooth, and you know who you are, I give you this: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/dining/27candy.html Nice to have validation isn't it?

A Few Days in the Life of Gail

When last we met I was preparing to do the Art Stroll. I mentioned the possibility of rain, and indeed just as it was slated to begin, the rain came down. Not crazy amounts, but enough to keep people from venturing out, not to mention, that I had no tent with me. Doing those small events like that I set out a table with prints, have a table top easel, and my stand up sling. Fortunately I was just outside a large overhang which allowed me to keep things dry. Mr. Bruce arrived with Baxter in tow, grabbing an outside table at the restaurant I was adjacent to. He ordered a bottle of wine, and some food which made the evening quite nice. I only sold a few things, but at least it wasn't a shut out. One really sweet thing that happened was that a woman kept looking at my prints, one in particular. After a bit, she put them back, walking away without saying much. Sunday afternoon at Lake Eola a lady came to the booth mentioning her friend met me at the art stroll and kept talking about this photo she couldn't afford. Her friend bought it for her birthday which made me super happy. Proving once again that even when it looks like nothing much is happening, people are paying attention, and potentially will return at another venue.

On Saturday it was quite chilly--a 30 degree temperature swing. All the vendors had to laugh because the previous Saturday we were all moaning and complaining, not to mention sweating profusely, about the heat! Dana was kind enough to bring a new display rack that she hoped I could use. She's taken over Church Street Station for the real estate company and during the clean up phase she found it and thought of Out & About Photography. What a fantastic buy for us!
Look on the right side of my booth and you will see that I can display twenty (!) images at once. I'm declaring it a hit!

I was using what I named "my twirly thing" which worked better than nothing, but this is far superior for people deciding whether to stop. Because the weather was so chilly(don't laugh you Northerners!), there were loads of people out. All of the vendors were delighted, having hung in there all summer hoping for bigger crowds. They got their wish! I had a good sales day, and never once was I hot. As you well know, my little honey takes such good care of me. While setting up he realized that the wind off the lake was whistling through my back opening so he made a wind break that worked like a charm. No surprise there you think, and you would think correctly!

I managed to stay up until 8:30, then hibernated for the next ten hours or so. Bruce's flight was at 5:30AM if you can imagine. He's in DC for the final inspection of TCG which although I haven't heard from him yet to say for 100% positive, I expect went off without a hitch. If I hear otherwise you'll be the first to know.

Yesterday I was doing pool maintenance. It is times like these that make me wish we didn't have a pool--somewhat like the miserably hot last days of summer here in Florida--you get fed up with it. Anyway, I've discovered that the pool pump is losing it's prime; although the motor continues to run, there is no circulation in the pool. I noticed it was looking greenish on Sunday when I returned from the market and now I know why! It was not at all the blue pictured here:

Before I forget, I read this book last week,Tomato Girl. If ever a book deserved the description of Southern Gothic this one does. Bi-polar mother, cheating father, black magic, epilepsy, do-gooding neighbor, incest--well, you get the picture. I believe I was seduced by the cover photograph. Actually it was quite good, but I'll offer one caveat--it the idea of a mother keeping a miscarried baby in a jar of formaldehyde and trying to nurse it through the jar troubles you, maybe you should keep your distance.

After struggling with the pool yesterday, I struggled with my order for this weekend. I'm doing my first "art show" of the fall season: Winter Springs, one I did last year. They treated us so well I thought I'd give it another go, especially since Judy wants to help me. Because she is a beloved teacher at Winter Springs High School, she is undoubtedly a great asset, not to mention, just plain fun to be with! I've whined how desperately I need an editor, with no one has stepping up to fill the position, so it's just me! Let's hope I did good.

Finally, by popular demand I present the shoes for dear Sarah:

Kinda hard to show them in their full glory but I tried.

Nothing But Blue Skies

For two days now there has been no rain, it's as if we never had weeks of torrential downpours with high winds, thunder and lightening. After a big storm on Tuesday afternoon the skies cleared causing me to say it was a good omen for the Magic game. That sounds perfectly silly, but sports fans are a superstitious lot. It worked you know.

The pool cleaner, after initial hiccups, has done a remarkable job. Oh my, it is a sight to behold how lovely the pool looks. As you may have guessed the above photo is of the pool immediately after the filter came on. Remember how I mentioned that air in the line may have been causing our difficulties? Well, I'm sorting all that out. Not one to let any opportunity go to waste, I grabbed my camera and here we are--lovely bubbles captured. I spent a good part of the afternoon either in the pool, or in the shade reading Life of Pi. Matt gave the book to his dad in 2001 (as evidenced by the U2 concert ticket stub in the book) but I'd never read it. Before I deleted the blogs on my side bar I read on the Book Lady's blog how it was a life changing book. I realized how silly it was having a book like that on the shelf and never opening it. Let me tell you, it is wonderful. Have you got any books on your shelf like that? Maybe the timing isn't right, but just when it will have the most impact on you, I feel confident you will reach for it. There is a wonderful passage about how doubt is an insurmountable enemy to our souls if we allow it to enter our thinking.

Because I've had a few weeks with poor sales, I've begun to doubt myself. I've tried not to, but it is easy enough to do if you are by yourself for much of the time. Those passages in particular spoke to me with the result--a confident middle-aged woman sallying forth! This weekend will be what it is supposed to be, not a reflection of what I'm doing. How's that for confidence?

Bruce arrived in Orlando this morning, but is still at the office working away. I've got the asparagus ready, the potatoes peeled, and the tomatoes sliced, waiting patiently for his homecoming. It's a good thing I don't have much appetite.

Speaking of which, Bruce and I were talking the other night about how incredible it was that I had dry heaves and misery for so, so long. It seems almost like a bad dream these days. I'm supremely grateful for its disappearance. After sitting for any length of time (as short as a meal), I could barely walk needing assistance much of the time. I'm embracing how normal I feel--the only nagging thought I have is that it will return out of nowhere whence it came. Let's hope not.

This morning I bought credit card slips and dropped off the disc with the potential calendar photos at Roger's house. I'm having him print five, I'll pick three once I have them in my hand. I'm finding that is an easier way to choose things rather than on the computer. Let's hope I have a winner in the lot!

Yesterday afternoon I went to Costco to get toilet paper. Anymore Costco befuddles me what with the dizzying array of merchandise, most of which I can't use. It is a great place to get tires, gas, the aforementioned tp, and varying types of soap products. Glasses too. I buy their laundry detergent which lasts nearly six months enabling me to not have to go to the grocery store which pleases me greatly.

I almost forgot to tell you about something that happened yesterday which was very cool. I took the mirrored medicine cabinet doors to a glass shop downtown to get new ones as the current ones have seen better days; I didn't want them marring my bathroom renovation. They've been in business since 1969 and were very casual, actually only taking my first name and phone number for my order. The front desk woman's name is Gail. I mentioned that I'd never been in a glass shop before and would it be possible for me to take a look at the space. Sure. Turns out the owner has a thing for old stuff, taking full advantage of the offerings on ebay. I spotted an old wooden phone booth along with several very interesting old public scales. He ended up pulling out a phone book from 1974 asking if we lived in Orlando then. You'll recall that we were newlyweds in 1974 having just moved into our first home. And here we are...

Joel C. Peck is Bruce's brother for those of you who don't know his real first name, and just below us is Robert S. Peck, his dad. The house listed there is the old rental house on Francis Avenue where his grandmother lived. I was hoping to see how many Pecks were in between Bruce and Cris these days, but they aren't in the phone book. I did estimate the number of Pecks now living in Orlando at around 50. Of course, I'm pretty terrible at that sort of thing but you get the idea--there are a lot more people in Orlando in 2009 than lived here in 1974. You'll also note the lack of area codes. Simpler times.

Every weekend for six weeks we worked on painting the outside of the Hargill house. Judy and Cris lived just behind us in the Peck family home until they moved out of town to Altamonte Springs which seemed far away in those days--still does to me. Judy loves to tell the story of floating in their pool while pregnant with Katie listening to Matt crying at our house. It made her mighty nervous wondering if she would suffer the same fate as me. Remember that the windows were wide open because of no air conditioning. That alone was enough to make anyone cry.

Please let the Magic win tonight. The LA papers were mocking us and I don't especially like that.

----------------
Listening to: Alberta Hunter - My Handy Man
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Listening to: Adele - Hometown Glory
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Listening to: Alicia Keys - No One
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Listening to: The National - It Never Happened
via FoxyTunes

It's What I Do

I take pictures.

I've only just realized that when something interests me I tend to get a bit compulsive. If I think back over my life there have been different phases of compulsiveness, beginning with sewing, which kept me occupied for many, many years. It is kinda fun looking back at old pictures seeing all the old clothes I made that everyone wore except for Bruce; he was exempt from homemade clothes. In fact, in our foyer there is a picture of me with my mom in a gown I made for her when I was around 17. She would have been 46 at the time. I remember it was for a big charity ball and I was put on serious restrictions because I didn't work hard enough on it, instead spent time with Bruce when he visited. And then there was cross stitch, quilting, cooking, of course reading goes without saying. You will notice an absence of anything physical.

So now I'm obsessed with photography. Today there will be pictures, and more pictures. I was absolutely delighted to see this on the home page of the Times:

Nothing escapes Matt, even though he is far, far away. He posted a version of this on his blog (link to that on side bar--fiftyfivehundred), his is infinitely better than mine because I've no idea how to do a screen capture even though Jonathan has tried to teach me how to do it. Matt called me "intrepid" which sounded kinda good and the feature "crowd sourced". What it amounts to is that they've asked for readers photos, which of course as it turns out, I have plenty....

Somehow I've deleted my sidebar!! A project for the morning.

I neglected to mention swimming on the above list just because it is part of who I am--I've never gotten over my love of water. When we bought this house nearly 14 years ago I was so thrilled to finally be able to have a pool. It was a shame that the children were mostly grown--Jonathan used it before he became addicted to a computer game that will go unnamed, and, truth be told, Bill and Dave did plenty of tanning in the pool during their modeling days. Anyway, those few faithful readers, and you know who you are, know that the chore of keeping the pool up has come up lots, probably too many times, in this blog. After getting rained out at the market on Sunday, I arrived home to find this pool cleaner (study photograph). Mr. Bruce surprised me--Christmas in June!!! The only trouble is that it's not working just right; we seem to have an air leak which is causing it to crawl, not buzz along the bottom, as it should. Tomorrow I'll probably have to call a repair person to get things working properly, and then I'll be in hog heaven! The pool looks mighty good though....

Because it seems as if Mr. Bruce has the obesity gene in his family I'm trying my best to help him not gain any more weight. Traveling for a living doesn't help much, eating out all the time. At home I've been making soup (the splatter incident, you may recall) and other meals with lots of veggies. Last night we had this:

Pretty huh? I love deviled eggs, somehow I don't make them often enough although I made my share while Mom was dying. I'd make a big batch and she'd have them for lunch because they were so easy. I've finally learned how to make them just right so peeling is a breeze.

Tonight the Magic take on the Lakers at home. This is a do or die situation because we are down two games. This afternoon Michelle and I were chatting about Sunday's heart breaking loss in LA, with her saying she almost cried when they lost in overtime. When I parked the Element to take photos of the Church Street Station for the calendar contest I saw this:

When I was looking for photos to put on the blog today I thought that this is how most fans feel right about now--deflated, and hanging on by a thread (string. The city is emblazoned with Magic paraphernalia right now with massive poster type things on the high rises downtown. While watching the games from LA I wondered how Orlando would hold up to such pressure--turns out not so good. Tonight, however, the fans are still hanging in there (balloon metaphor), let's hope the team and Orlando put on a good show for the worldwide audience expected to tune in!

You know how I started by saying I was compulsive about certain things, maybe it would have been clearer if I'd said I was obsessed. Yes, that's the correct word for it. The Magic--I was obsessed with them for years, only letting my interest wane in the last few. The boys will remember that Bruce and I went to the very first exhibition game twenty years ago while Maureen watched them. I spent years listening to the radio broadcasts of games while sewing nightly....obsessed, that I was. Tip off in about an hour. Let's go Magic, let's go!

Riders Wanted

Here is one of my favorite pictures I've taken lately. I've framed it simply with a white mat and black frame, and I'll be taking it Sunday. We'll see if anyone else likes it.

I started the day very slowly but after a chat with my sister Lisa, I got moving. I was asking her to come and help me with a few cleaning chores as I just haven't been up to them. She isn't that keen on cleaning herself, however, she said she would come on Monday. Maybe by then, I'll have it done and save her the trip.

Our Baxter is BACK. One of my greatest pleasures is our swimming pool open to the sky. If you've been to Florida, you will see that screened pools are all the rage, however, I've never wanted one. I figure if I wanted to be in a room, I'd stay inside. Nonetheless, it is no fun this time of year as our oak trees are losing their leaves, next they put out this fuzzy stuff, and generally make our yard and pool a wreck. Typically when we clean the pool with the big pole and scooper, Baxter barks like crazy, running around the pool and going nuts. Two weeks ago, he came out there but remained silent. Today though, he was at full strength. The funniest thing is he was so incessant that my neighbor from across the street opened the gate to make sure I was alright. Her husband was afraid that I had fallen and Baxter was barking for help! Now, that is a nice neighbor.

We have clean sheets on the bed, ditto the bathroom sink and laundry--that's enough to make me smile.