as scooby would say … “ruh roh”

My laptop’s harddrive failed. As it turns out this is non-recoverable. So, please hang in there with me. I lost a lot, but I am pretty sure that most of the work stuff was eventually emailed to someone else. The personal stuff, well, not the end of the world though I had some of the [...]

it’s a jungle out there

All the weeding and cutting back I did about a month ago are long forgotten, and the backyard is over run. Some of it is beautiful. Some of the greenery are weeds and insidious vines.
These are some new blossoms, along with some random shots from the week.
And here’s the link to the blooms from about [...]

it’s very quiet

The children left tonight, and it’s awfully quiet after a week of 5- and nearly-8-year-old banter, drama, questions, squeals, tears and laughter. Lots of laughter. I’m now addicted to Splash Uno and will have to find some friends to join me in this worthy pursuit.

http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-UNO-H2O-Splash-Game/dp/B000EX1AUM
I read The Senator’s Wife tonight … I’d picked it up variously [...]

cyber friends

If there is someone on your buddy list who makes a difference in your life — and with whom you connected via the Internet — please add this sentence to your blog. (With thanks to Carol for the idea).

what i did on my summer vacation

the inside scoop

I had a laptop meltdown while we are at the beach. It is now in laptop rehab for triage. While using an old, old laptop, I came across some inside Sea Dip pictures that I thought I’d share.

the many faces of the sea dip

This is the first Sea Dip. Today, these modest little bungalows on the beach have been replaced by 130 even more modest condos. In the ’50s, it looked like this.

Later, another wing was added.

Today:

the kids have arrived

I’ll post some pictures and a more comprehensive update later but C1 and C2 have landed (sort of like Thing 1 and Thing 2 but with better accessories). Everyone (including Nana) have been really good and well-behaved. A small reptilian drama yesterday. Hours at the local butterfly garden (where I have to believe that I [...]

happy happy bday c2

The long-awaited arrival of the children and their grandmother has occurred. Much play, much fun, much food, not so much time to post.
I should have a little more downtime when we get to the beach in a couple of days.
In the meantime, today is C2’s fifth birthday. Happy, happy day, little guy!

electricity: don’t try this at home

I feel pretty comfortable with electricity. Hooking up simple fixtures, I mean. It’s pretty straightforward. It can be more complicated when you’re working with old wiring and new fixtures, however.
The backyard lightposts went together fairly simply. There were some extra wires because of the dusk-dawn feature, and the old wiring is of the thick variety [...]

critters galore

The backyard is full of nature’s glory. Butterflies of all shapes, sizes and colors chase each other and feast on colorful flowers. Bumble bees, dragon flies and wasps flitter about. Geckos (lizards for those of you from up north) abound — as my brother once commented, “It looks like Jurrasic Park.” Well, in minature any [...]

ceviche anyone?

The avocado tree is in full bloom, and I’ve rescued about six fruit that will be ready for the table within a couple of days. Guacamole, ceviche, fresh avocado in salads, yum!
Here are some pictures of those that have yet to leap from the tree branches.

this bud’s for you

Hi gang: This blog has devolved into mostly really-random thoughts that zing around my brain and get typed up for all the world to see. However, for those of you have patiently returned week after week to see what’s new with the house, I do not have any scintillating updates. But I do have pictures. [...]

pool update: tile in

Here is a picture of the new pool tile in its natural environment. Leaks fixed. Tile pretty. Will go with slate, terracotta or brick paver pool deck (whenever I get that far). What do you think?

nobody puts Baby in a corner

With apologies to Dirty Dancing, I have adopted this philosophy for the next week or so. I finally issued an ultimatum to the GC (cc’ing my friend, the attorney, more for her amusement than anything else), explaining that if he did not finish every item on the punch list to my satisfaction by next Friday, [...]

remodeling update: month 10

Where did I leave you oh so many months ago on the finale of the exterior renovation?
I believe I thought we’d be done in May but, ever the optimist, I was mistaken. People have had children in less time. Really.
However, word from the GC is that he is going over tomorrow to do the final little [...]

moo

I recently met a woman who is in the second half of her life as I was discussing in yesterday’s post. She sold a wildly successful firm in the design/build industry (before things got rocky) and is finding her bliss, to quote Joseph Campbell.
She hasn’t quite decided how this second half will look but she [...]

your second half

In September I turn 44. Eegads. Yes, I am hoping 44 is the new 34. But I’d say that this is officially midlife. Hmmm, that could also explain the crisis.
As I ponder my future, I’m making plans for what I want to do next. I don’t think I want such a public 24/7 fundraising job [...]

on drinking and blogging

In one word: DON’T.
Back when we were in high school, we’d unplug the phone cord for our errant drinker-and-dialer when we got home.
A decade later, we’d hide her cell phone after a party night. It might ring and she would look for it. Our response was: Huh, what, I didn’t hear anything.
We should have seen [...]

childhood

Here is a game I like to play with people (often with an adult beverage or two in play): What is your earliest childhood memory?
The more interesting part of this exercise is that people often make a connection to their outlook or behavior today. Not always. But always intriguing.
Try it (with or without beverages) and [...]

the power of now

I am back for a perkier post. Well, sort of.
How many of you have read any of Eckhart Tolle’s books?
If you have and you’d like to discuss, please comment.
I read The Power of Now in the late 90s. I kind of got it when I read Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go, There You Are. I [...]

spoiler alert: this is a downer

I adore MASH but suicide is not painless.
Someone I knew a little (I know his close friends well) killed himself last week. Several years ago, two men I did know very well who were in their 40s and had the trappings of “everything one would want” (lovely wives, talented children, some wealth, beautiful homes, excellent [...]

wacky wall-e world view

This would have been a better July 4 posting: Happy birthday to us???
While investigating options for entertaining my niece and nephew who arrive in a short few weeks, I was alerted to the stellar reviews of “Wall-E” by mom, who is apparently more in tune with popular culture than I am. (Mostly we do physical things [...]

adaptable change

Coins with braille. How cool is that? http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/braille-stamped-silver-dollar-unveiled/20080702164509990001?icid=100214839×1205142953×1200244607

have you had enough of the economy, the war, the housing disaster?

are all the good ones taken?

Or are there any good ones??? From Maureen Dowd at the New York Times comes this should-I-marry-him advice: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/opinion/06dowd.html?em&ex=1215489600&en=83f1aff773cc55cf&ei=5087%0A.

vintage SeaDip

 Here is a picture of the SeaDip from back in the 1960s when it only had the single wing. I really must get to the beach soon.

somewhere out there

Judith Warner wrote a lovely essay in the Times that will strike a chord for parents, godparents, aunts and uncles of children of all ages. I think it also explains why I bought the Elmo and An American Tail DVDs my niece and spent many wonderful hours together watching.
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/getting-real/index.html
When I first moved to Florida, she was brand [...]

planting seeds

What a nifty idea: Seeds embedded in recycled paper. You plant and water the card, and it grows wildflowers. They are nice party favors or holiday stocking stuffers, and they are “tree free.”

http://www.botanicalpaperworks.com/article/FAQ/227/

in the category of: i need to get a life

I watched Tori Spellings’ reality show. (Why is a longer story you could possibly care about).
What is more surprising and scary is that I actually found it enjoyable.
Hmmmmmmmm ..

wow … where have i been?

From fellow blogger, Washes of Color, I’ve learned of Pandora radio. If you’re the other person who has never heard of it, you must check it out … way way cool. It’s amazing to me … the internet has made everything so very personal. I can have my own G-station if I want to …
www.pandora.com