So Nice to Have a MAN Around the House

Of course, I don't just mean any man, I mean Mr. Bruce. My posting absence is a result of having a working partner at home. Am I ever glad that was the case!

So, we went to the reunion which felt a little bit like going to the Youth Center when we were teens. We arrived. We scanned the room for familiar faces. We saw no one we knew. Not anyone. We stalled by getting food. Still no one. There were people from Lyman, Colonial, Edgewater, Bishop Moore and Winter Park. A few from Boone, including the couple who walked in with us. They knew Maureen, as did a few others we eventually talked to, but by the time we left, we could count on one hand the number of people we knew. Disappointing in some respects, however, we're still glad we went. Here's one of the bands who probably haven't changed much in the last 40 years except for going grey.

One of the guys I spoke with was the son of the man who taught me how to do Nuclear Medicine studies 40 years ago at Winter Park Hospital. He's a few years younger than we are, thus he was an orderly during my student days, bringing the patients down for their studies. Small world.

If you can believe it, we stayed home from the market on Sunday. Why, you ask? Well, ever since we began four years ago, we've gone week after week except for inclement weather, show schedules, or a vacation. With Roger having only just been released from the hospital, I knew he was in no condition to print. Mostly, though, I wanted Bruce to have a break. We used our time ever so wisely. In fact, we worked together ALL day outside. It was wonderful, reminding me of our earlier days, stretching back all the way to when we bought our first house. We were 20 and 21 years old at the time. Every weekend, and lots of evenings, we worked on that house. It took us six weekends to paint the exterior. What can I say? We love making things look nice!

Arriving at Home Depot at 9:30 in the morning, we brought home an Element full. Seriously, it was packed! One of our purchases was a grill to replace the one we trashed during the remodel.

Bruce isn't really a grill guy, however, he wants me to have a nice spot to grill. We decided to put it in this corner because, really, who wants to look at a grill all the time. Our inaugural meal was--you guessed it--hot dogs and hamburgers.

That was the only time we stopped all day. Dinner time was 9PM. Planting, digging, and chopping on Bruce's part. He moved a Nandina, which for those of you unfamiliar with them, it is a lacy, upright plant in the bamboo family, to please me. He also planted eight Cardinal Red Oleander plants. When digging the Giant Loripe up to make way for the Nandina, he came across an oak root from the now removed tree, the size of my THIGH! Using his axe, he chopped both ends and removed it. More plugs, more flowers. You would think we were gardeners or something!

It wasn't too long after our dinner that we fell fast asleep, although, not before feeling really great about our accomplishments. One of which was to move this plant, a Lysimachia, which was on the ground before I moved it atop the tree stump. I love how it cascades down:

Not to confuse me with my sister Lisa, a gardener extraordinaire, I just want things to look as nice as they can. I'm no vegetable gardener for sure. This is the only tomato from my plant, which also needs explanation. The photo makes it look much larger than it really is:

Seriously, it's smaller than a lemon. I picked it for fear it would go bad before if fully vine-ripened!

This morning I was out bright and early, sunrise, if you must know, finishing my plugging. Bruce, also got into the act, trimming more, edging, and general clean up. There's so much to do with a corner lot! There's probably also something to be said for living in a condo....

But, then you couldn't take pictures of yourself in your pool, now could you? I LOVE the salt water. It somehow feels silky smooth. We'll see what Miss Monica has to say about my hair the next time we meet. I'm not sure if I'm able to float easier in this pool than the previous one, but it sure feels that way.

Doesn't that look refreshing? It sure felt so, although, believe it or not, the weather cooperated so nicely this weekend. It was hot, don't get me wrong, but entirely bearable, except for a few hours in the middle of the afternoon. Humidity is on hiatus for now--if only it would stay there!

Finally we were done with our outdoor projects. Bruce, of course, went right back to his computer to work. I, on the other hand, continued reading by the pool, Portobello by Ruth Rendell . Years, and years ago, I read one of her books, which I seem to recall enjoying. I'm not much of a mystery fan, really, I almost never read mysteries, probably because I'm not clever enough to figure them out. Our mother was a great fan of mysteries, reading them any chance she got. The title refers to Portobello Road in London--I'm getting in the mood for the trip, which is now only 31 days away! Hurray!

Sadly, Bruce will be leaving me again in the morning. It was so very nice having him home for four days in a row!

The Weekend

Craigslist Defense
During our dinner out with Bruce's mom and Judy and Cris I told them about Craigslist. Funny that this article should appear today. Essentially I mentioned that it works like a charm and it was putting a strain on the daily newspaper's advertising revenue. Craig has something to say about that. The dinner was nice--both company and food.

We didn't end up going out on Friday night because our Mr. Bruce was just plain too tired. He's been traveling four days a week; while on the road it is not unusual for him to put in a fourteen hour day if you can imagine.

Another Mother's Day is behind us. I kinda have this thing against what I call "card company" holidays. Funny thing is, I do like to get a card on Mother's Day although it's not mandatory. This was my first Mother's Day when I got a text message--guess who sent that. I tried to get David to come to the market, but he declined. In fairness he was all set to come over after dinner, as was Bill but I declined. I had a decent day at the market which was a VAST improvement over last years. I wish our Matt could see me now. Last year he flew in from London for two days during which time he taught me a lot about my camera. But back to the market---he said maybe if people were there they might buy something. Our new manager has made incredible improvements to the scene. Her background is marketing which she has put to good use. The traffic is up at least ten fold! As well, I now have regulars who visit. One young man keeps bringing friends to buy the graffiti print. I've told folks that people of all ages love it although this is the first time a toddler has approved. She was so cute, just ran right up to it, touching it and squealing with delight. Notice her precious little shoes will you? Her heritage is Icelandic. What a cutie!

Forgive me, I digress. I was just too tired and was sound asleep by 8:30! I slept till 6:30 this morning, and drug myself out of bed to go to the little market. Because Bruce has built Olive Gardens all over the country, I always have something to talk about with the customers. More often than not, they've been to one of his restaurants.

While there I read an article in The New Yorker about the preservation of folk music, a term I'm using very broadly. Here's a quote: "Fame in folk music can be less a matter of talent than of opportunity.." Isn't that pretty much the way it is in all endeavors? Matt related that Madonna put on a good show, exciting the crowd with her presence. She's a good example of not that much talent, but boy does she know how to entertain!

If anyone can remind me how to make a picture my desktop I'd appreciate it. I want to put our little Baxter on there for now.

Lastly, I think I'm no fan of Mother's Day because I no longer have one.
Listening to: Pete Yorn - Murray
via FoxyTunes