Keep on Movin

Picture this:
The rain is falling madly, the air conditioning is too cold, and there are no visitors. You can guess where I was today. Although I've brought a book of short stories by Lauren Groff, Delicate Edible Birds, to read, the stories are so intense that reading them one right after another diminishes their potency...I need time to absorb them for a bit before moving on to the next. Because of the rain, I can't go out to take pictures, so I do something that has never occurred to me before: I begin dancing in the back gallery space to Soul II Soul's greatest hits, chiefly, Keep on Movin. I can't imagine what I would have done if someone arrived. It felt good to be moving I can say that much for sure.

That cd is an oldie but a goodie. If I remember correctly Matt used it as background music for the prom video he did all those years ago, make that 17, if you can imagine. He's turning 33 on Sunday....I can hardly believe I've been a Mom for so many years!

I'm posting a photograph of our Baxie, taken yesterday afternoon while I was watching the NikonD60 dvd, hoping to learn how to operate the camera more effectively. By now I can't even remember what settings I used for this; I'm sure you could care less, it would bore you anyway (frankly it does me too). What matters is this sure shows his cuteness, not to mention that he's looking out the window longingly, waiting for Bruce's return. You've got several days yet to go Mr. Baxter.

In more Baxter related news, remember his last blog appearance photographed in the life jacket? While reading the paper I noticed that they accept pet photos for publication with a little blurb below. Not one to let this kind of opportunity go to waste I submitted that photo, hearing just last night that on July 9, a Thursday, Baxter will be making his "print" debut. Angela was not surprised, her response: "I always knew he would be famous." And so he shall be.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the museum will be closed for the next two months, or have I already told you that? Anyway, I'm glad. Next season I may have to look for a volunteer opportunity which involves more interaction with people. We shall see.

Matt is busy being a concert-goer this week; he'll be seeing Blur, Madonna, and Take That. He's seen Madonna maybe four times now? Blur, however, is his favorite. I've no idea how he manages, his work weeks of late have been 75 hours. A birthday week perhaps?

I'd arranged to have Michelle and Dave Baxter-sit for me while I took a little trip back over to Sarasota this afternoon. I didn't factor in the weather. It rains for a bit almost every day in the summer, but 80% chance is just a little too much to gamble with. As we've discussed in the past, driving in that kind of rainstorm is extremely scary; I got my hair trimmed instead. I'm thinking of heading to the other coast in the morning.....
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Listening to: The National - Fashion Coat
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: The National - Brainy
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: The National - Patterns Of Fairytales
via FoxyTunes

Spend More Time Living

Thursday morning Baxter's barking woke me at 5AM which I took for a sign that I should go somewhere early. Packing my things quickly, I got on I-4 intending to head for New Smyrna Beach. I didn't make it that far. Not because of any problems, but while driving I had an idea about catching the sunrise under the St. Johns River bridge near Sanford. I got impatient. I got back in the car and drove along Lake Monroe, pulling the Honda over to catch the sunrise between palm trees. Running across the road into the grassy area alongside the lake, I was swarmed by bugs. When I returned to the car this is what it looked like:

My body looked like the side of the car! For a nice change, at least they didn't bite.

So here's the sunrise in full glory:

Alert readers may notice I said above that I wanted to get the sunrise between palm trees; the one with the old dock posts turned out better. Maybe a little less cliche?

I walked around the marina, got gas and headed home. By now it was getting warm--not so horrible as the previous week, but warm by most people's standards. While driving I saw a billboard with today's blog tile. It was for a local hospital which most days I'd start ranting about, today, however, I will spare you that sermon. In any case, I thought how ambiguous it is. What the heck does spend more time living mean? Isn't that most people's goal anyway? I mean really.

Still fussing about that in my mind, later on that afternoon I learned of Farah Fawcett's death. Yes, she tried to spend more time living, but unfortunately she was denied. The same with Michael Jackson. By now we've learned that MJ's death is under suspicion which is a shame. Aren't you glad you're not a celebrity? Aren't you glad no one follows your every move? What a weird life that must be. I wonder what drives people to strive for that kind of fame?

Speaking of fame, I read a small piece in the Times yesterday afternoon about Susan Boyle regarding her meteoric rise to fame. We all know how she's been affected; I expect never in her wildest dreams did she imagine what's happened to her. I love her voice, and her story, of course, I've always been a sucker for the underdog.

Saturday afternoon, Bruce's mom came over to spend the night before an early morning flight to New York. Her brother in law passed away, the second time this year she's gone up North for a funeral. It must be horrible to lose all the people you've known all your life. Bruce took her at 6 in the morning, worrying until he'd heard she'd arrived safely. Her knee was bothering her terribly, you know how big terminals are. Frazzled, but safe, she called to let him know she'd made it.

We spent the evening looking at one of the old photo albums my dad made. We were both amazed at the condition of some of the photos dating back as far as 1901. Still very sharp compared to some in the next album we looked at. Amazingly, photos from our early days together in the late 60's and early 70's are faded. I'd not looked at those for quite a while--a little trip down memory lane--our high school graduation, prom, the bike Bruce bought for me with lawn mowing money, our first Christmas tree....you get the picture. I think our story has been mighty good.

You've Got a Friend

While talking with Maureen yesterday afternoon she related a story about a friend of hers. During a trip to the beach with some other ladies, the said friend told the others, "excuse me for a few hours, I'm going to Africa." I'm sure you've guessed what she meant--you are much too clever to need an explanation.

That's what I've felt like while reading, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. My physical body was at Gem Mary Court, my mind was teeming with the images created with words on the page. I could almost envision the enchantment of the Exposition juxtaposed with the grimy reality that was Chicago in those days. I remembered that I'd tried to take photographs inside The Rookery building where the early planning of the fair took place on the top floors. Immediately upon completing the book I went to my folder of Chicago photographs.

Because I was only in Chicago for such a short time, and still very weak, my foot travels were somewhat limited, not only because of energy, but a constant drizzle on most of my second day kept me under cover for part of it. Thus, I went into the Chicago Visitor's Center and came across an amazing photography exhibit showcasing the architectural marvels found in Chicago. I was captivated by a black and white of the staircase inside the Rookery prompting me to consult my maps and find this marvel. Unfortunately it didn't work according to plan because they don't allow just ANYONE in there taking photographs. I needed a permit, which of course I didn't have. Nonetheless, I took this in the beautiful lobby which was updated by none other than Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright in 1907:

According to the book this is one of the few buildings left in Chicago designed by Burnham and Root, the most influential architects of their day. Mr. Root died of pneumonia before the monumental task of building the Columbian Exposition got underway with Mr. Burnham shouldering the responsibilities. By now you are probably either bored or lost, but suffice it to say, the book chronicled the remarkable achievement that was the "White City."

Good books have a way of making you want to know more, whether it is about the author, the time period, or the place. Forgive me for going on and on--I did learn that Mr. Burnham was responsible for not only the "Miracle Mile", but the parks abutting Lake Michigan. Roaming Grant Park in the rain, I was amazed how the clouds off the lake obscured the skyscrapers (Mr. Root's design coup).

I am having some issues right now with not only my iPhoto library, but it appears that my mouse is misbehaving. Hmmm....what to do, what to do?

A week ago I was floating in the Pacific Ocean with Pi, I've been immersed in Chicago, and now my friends, I think I'm heading for New York--I'll be sure to let you know how it was.

P.S. Did I mention that Mr. Burnham designed one of my top favorite buildings in New York--the Flatiron--I knew I liked him.
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Listening to: Tift Merritt - Write My Ticket
via FoxyTunes

Blame it on the Heat

Since last we met, the date on the calendar shows that summer has arrived. In Florida what this really means is that we have moved from lesser summer (April, May, early June), to greater summer which can sometimes stretch into November. As I type this, it is 97 outside, a degree or two cooler than yesterday's temp at the market. Not only am I wilting, but my sales are too. Of course I'm sure "this too shall pass."

You were probably thinking that I haven't written because I've been too busy, not really. With sales down, the behind the scenes activity has slowed to a crawl; I've been filling my days with reading and swimming, and of course taking photos when the opportunity presents itself.

Last Wednesday the phone woke me up at 6--groggily I picked up hearing my dear husband's cheerful voice,

Bruce:"it's your wake up call honey." (He'd been up since 4:30 working on email!)

Gail: "why did I want to get up?"

Bruce: "I've no idea."

It was then that I remembered the yard.

Gail: "I'm going out in the semi-darkness to clean up from the storm."

Bruce: "Have fun!"

Gail: "Will do--have a good day!"

I threw on a t-shirt and shorts and headed out into the sauna. Torrential rains with 60mph winds tore through on Tuesday evening, lasting well into the night, leaving our yard a disaster. Knowing that the lawn guys were coming the next day I filled a garbage can with debris and left the rest for them. Because I was up and moving so early I decided to head to the beach for both photos, and swimming. The ocean temperature is just perfect right now, one can plunge right in immediately feeling invigorated. I first stopped at Sea Gull park, which sounded perfect, but was anything but. Not only were there no seagulls, there were huge rocks just beyond the shoreline--not a good place to swim if you don't want to get hurt. Heading back north on A1A, I stopped at one of the uncrowded beaches on Patrick AFB, the first photo in the album. I swam, took photos, and collected shells, leaving before the sun was too high in the sky so I wouldn't burn. Although I've been to Cocoa innumerable times, I'd never seen Cocoa Village which this trip rectified. It is a charming little area with lots of cute shops and restaurants. The surrounding neighborhood has loads of old house with lots of character. Count me surprised.

More huge storming going on Thursday about two hours after the yard men left. Friday morning I repeated Wednesday's operation minus the beach trip. It's all this intense heats fault. I will say that these storms have not been our typical--cool things off-- afternoon storms because of the high winds.

Friday I did chores and went by the gallery. Oh yeah, it seems as if the show is on for October; more details as we get closer. Bruce called around 3 saying he was leaving work early so we could go to the 5:00 movie at our spiffy new downtown theater. We saw Taking Pelham 123 which was better than I expected. From what I've heard this version isn't as good as the older version--I may be wrong, but I'm thinking the inclusion of lots of techie stuff subtracted from the psychological drama that the former one was.

Just before leaving I tried to open my iPhoto library with sad results. The error message states that it is locked and I don't have access. Trying not to panic, I did the whole reboot thing, unplugging, and any thing else I could think of with the same message. Annoyingly the screen kept coming up--ok?--no, it is NOT ok! My date arrived to pick me up. After Saturday's market I sent Matt an email; he called immediately. I felt terrible because he'd been cleaning his flat all day and was just going out. Hoping it wasn't anything too drastic, he took control of my computer (always so miraculous to me) for more than an hour with no resolution. All is not lost dear readers, just misplaced for now, not to mention that I have a copy of most things on Picasa. It will all work out somehow.

Mr. Roger's son Ed is having his third surgery to eradicate the cancer behind his sinus this week in Philadelphia. Not only has he undergone surgery, but radiation and chemotherapy as well, with cancer cells still detected. Three surgeons will work together, one for his brain, one for his face, and I can't remember what the other one will do. Hopefully this will be the last of it; Ed is only 27 and has been through enough already.

Dave and Bill came over last evening around 6:30 to celebrate Father's Day with Bruce. My, oh my, those boys (men) can talk. I was disappointed that Michelle wasn't feeling well--I was looking forward to seeing her. We sat around the kitchen table for a few hours engaging in conversation about all the taboo subjects--politics, religion, and the economy. Not only do they talk loudly, but over one another--you would think we were an Italian family or something! Our big city sons called as well each getting to have a chat with their SUPER dad.

After a week of tinkering I finally got the pool cleaner to work--it travels around like mad now! Fantastic!

In an effort to spur on the economy I think I'll head up to our local nail salon to get a pedicure.

Beauty Amongst Thorns

 

By now you know that our neighbor Regina is a wonderful neighbor, very hip at age 73, and always ready for an adventure. Sunday's market was hot--enough said. Pretty much once you are home you don't want to do a thing, but a phone call from Regina changed my mind. "Would you like to join me in seeing some amazing night blooming cacti--I'll pick you up around 11?" she asked. My first instinct was to say no thanks, not to mention that the Magic were playing and I was certain they were going to win, but instead I said, "sure." Not far from us on Orange Avenue, in front of an office building, there are these huge cacti covered with these beautiful blooms. Turns out it is the building Martini Graphics first moved to when they left their home office next door to us, the business our neighbors founded where both Jonathan and Bill worked for some time. Anyway, it was an amazing site to see such ugly plants producing the most gorgeous flowers which open at night, closing just after sunrise. Awe inspiring comes to mind.'

Lest I give you the impression I had no sales, let me correct that notion, just not too many. While I was sweating under my tent with two fans going, Bruce was scorching on the roof, cleaning both the gutters and the roof itself. Apparently it was so unbearably hot he had to stop working, jump in the pool to cool off, and rest several times. On top of that he rode his bike to the market which isn't too far, but far enough at 4 in the afternoon with temperatures hovering around 94!

Today after my museum stint I drove straight to Sports Authority to get the bathing cap which I plan to use shortly. Realizing I was not only hungry, but close by, I stopped at our friends, Rico and Evelyn's little restaurant. Here's a link to a review from Orlando Weekly: El Coqui Mexicano For four years they toiled at the market. spreading both good cheer and food. If you check out the comments you will see that not only do people rave about the food, but they rave about their friendliness. Much to my surprise when I arrived they were not on the premises, instead at home getting some much needed rest. Generally I don't ever go out for lunch, but with the restaurant doing so well, Evelyn and Rico are taking the summer off from the market; the truth is, I miss them. I was hoping to let them know that we all do, but we understand that working on your feet till late at night seven days a week begins to take a toll. Adding to my surprise was the cook, Chris, who is the husband of Jennifer, the cupcake lady. I used to know all the vendors names but not so much anymore what with so many of them. Usually people are referred to by what they sell--the bean dip lady, produce people, the orchid couple, cheese lady and popcorn people are some examples. That's what happens when you take a small market of twenty or so vendors, expanding to around seventy or more.

So back to Chris, on Saturdays he's a wedding photographer, during the week he now cooks. Before I left we discussed that although the market can be tough you never know what other opportunities might come up, something I've mentioned in the past. I don't know if it will go anywhere, but Brad came by Sunday afternoon, asking if I might be interested in doing another gallery show, this time at the Comma gallery (on Virginia Avenue) in October. We shall see--they've had some pretty big time folks there; I may not be ready for the big leagues just yet.

By now you know the Magic lost a bit of their post season magic, winning only one game against Los Angeles, although it could have been a much closer series if not for losing two overtime games--at least we can get some sleep now!

I finished Life of Pi a very satisfying book which I highly recommend. Another book Matt gave Bruce years ago is Devil in the White City which I'd never read despite an excellent review from Bruce. So often people bemoan the state of things, sometimes with good reason, other times due to a lack of historical context. The book is non-fiction with this description of Chicago in 1892 in the opening pages:

"Anonymous death came early and often. Each of the thousand trains that entered and left the city did so at grade level. You could step from a curb and be killed by the Chicago Limited. Every day on average two people were destroyed at the city's rail crossings. Their injuries were grotesque. Pedestrians retrieved severed heads. There were other hazards. Streetcars fell from drawbridges. Fires took a dozen lives a day. There was diphtheria, typhus, cholera, influenza. And there was murder. In the time of the fair the rate at which men and women killed one another rose sharply throughout the nation but especially in Chicago, where police found themselves without the manpower or expertise to manage the volume. In the first six months of 1892 the city experienced nearly eight hundred violent deaths."

What do you think? Wouldn't you rather be living now? And what about people's fear for the future? I expect things will continue to improve in unimagined ways, of course, I've always been an optimist.


Listening to: Lisa Stansfield - The Real Thing (K-Klassic Mix)
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: Republica - Ready To Go
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: Basement Jaxx - Red Alert
via FoxyTunes

Media Day

There's gonna be a whole lotta sharing going on today!

You know how I mentioned the wonderful wildflowers on one of my previous posts? Well the heat has, surprisingly, not killed them all off just yet. This morning I drove Bruce to The Villages for a brief meeting leaving me little time to explore.I wanted to spend time with him but he was mostly making business calls. When I dropped him off back at his office around lunchtime his boss came out and we went to Nordstrom for lunch--good stuff. Ok, back to the story-- as you know, there are thousands upon thousands of homes, along with two "town centres" (I'm using that on purpose), and 36 golf courses located there. Not much rural life left, but there is one road I like to travel when I'm there. I saw these on my drive:

Behind this fence are a group of about twelve Shetland Ponies and their babies. I've tried my best to find out what baby ponies are called, to no avail. I did however, find this out about the breed: Shetland Pony. Stopping his grazing for a moment, this little one came up to the fence to investigate the strange lady with the camera, coming up about waist high to me. One little one was nursing with his mother paying no mind, just going about her business of eating.

Here we have the parent and child:

Today is one of those days when the phrase, "hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk" comes to mind. Hopefully it will be enough to dry the laundry hung up at 3 in the afternoon. I'm doing things backwards today--usually it would be up by 8 and down long before now. Truth be told, with the rainy weather we've had, this is the first time I've been able to hang the clothes on the line in weeks. We love the smell and stiffness of clothes hung on the line which seems crazy, but we've been called worse!

Because of our little journey I cleaned myself up a bit, washing and drying my hair this morning which is keeping me out of my swimsuit. I'm being lazy here. Matt doesn't write much on his blog these days, HOWEVER, he makes up for it with posting great stuff. This came from today's post and it is very, very fun, not to mention it reminded me that I could buy a bathing cap! Having thick hair is a real blessing, I'm not complaining but it does take forever to air or blow dry. Plus, when I let it air dry it looks wretched. Mattie to the rescue again! Two more things struck me in this video (aside from the catchy song!), one that small breasted women used to wear fetching bathing suits with ruffles to give them some shape. Secondly, the choreography totally brought back the June Taylor dancers from the Jackie Gleason show. Those of you, of a certain age, will surely recall the grace and beauty of the dancers. It was, to put it bluntly, mesmerizing. Click right below folks--you are in for a treat.
Taller Children
I heard this story on the way home from Costco, it seemed totally like something you would appreciate.

Then there is the Magic...or not so magic last night.

How's that for media day?

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.

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Listening to: Alberta Hunter - My Handy Man
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: Adele - Hometown Glory
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: Alicia Keys - No One
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: The National - It Never Happened
via FoxyTunes