Autumn!

I haven't seen the sun in I don't know how long.(that wasn't a complaint just a fact)

Just a couple weeks ago my little feet were right here and this was my sky.




This is what greets me this week. This isn't the exact same spot, I took this about 2 miles north of my usual favorite place. There's a big difference in the sand and water color but it's not like anyone could tell in this dreary weather. I should be complaining but I'm not. I'm actually enjoying the 'angry' weather. (This is looking North)

I braved the winds today and went to see the ocean. By car of course(I'm not that brave). I would like nothing more than to ride my bike to the beach right now. But I'm afraid to because the wind is blowing so hard, it would push me down. I'm dying to get over to my beach because with the Nor'easter blowing in and the tropical storm to the south, I'm sure there's all kinds of good stuff washing up. But since there's no parking(and thankfully so)I'll have to wait until the weather clears up a bit. Red tide is also a factor but it's not as bad anymore. I mean, I assume it's not because I haven't had a nose bleed since last week. The heavy rain hasn't stopped me from leaving my windows open either. It's so nice to have fresh sea air flowing through the house.(This is looking South)

That wooden box is actually supposed to be under that beach warning sign post up there. I'm assuming it was carried by the high tide some yards away and then blown on it's side. Hope all the sea turtle nests are ok. I'm thinking about joining our local sea turtle patrol. Think they'd have me?

A couple weeks ago Mr.Pea and I went shopping and this sky just snuck up on us. I haven't seen a sky with so many colors since I lived in California so it was a welcome sight.

I find myself enjoying the fall. Probably because last year I was so damn sick I missed it completely. How could I have ever disliked it?

I'm not sure how to feel about this

What do you think? Cute? Disturbing? Both?

Thirsty Thursday

-Peanut is still having some health problems. We've spent a lot of money on his medicines and check ups and re-checks. Feel free to chime in, anyone, on guessing how much or how little I care about the damn money spent/to be spent. He'll be ok. That's all I want. I would spend my last dime to make sure of it as long as he's not suffering. And I would even sell my shoes, if need be dammit.


-It's been another strange week. I actually heard someone defend an oil company when I complained about how much more gas costs on my side of the intra coastal bridge than on the other side . I wasn't weirded out though because I heard this very person defend Wal-mart when I complained I was never buying anything there again after the toaster oven I got there fell apart. My reaction is, as always,"Um. Ok." It's useless to debate with someone who would actually defend any of those two companies anyway. Actually it might just be that I complain way too much for this person's tolerance level. That would be a more fitting reason. To me at least. So I prefer to think that because it's easier.


-Red tide is the tool of the devil, I know it. I haven't been to my beach or ridden my bike or went for a decent walk for fear of falling into a coughing fit or a nose bleed in too long....oh sigh sigh sigh. I only feel sorry for myself for 5 seconds, I'm sure California would be willing to trade places right now. Still though, red tide is an evil plague on my happiness right now. Peanut doesn't like it either.

-Yesterday I found myself saying,"Find a penny pick it up, it will bring you lots of luck," out loud. But then I didn't win the lottery. So it doesn't work.


-Today is Thirsty Thursday. On Thirsty Thursdays, my favorite milkshake is half price. Today is the first Thirsty Thursday in probably 4 months that I didn't get a milkshake. Not because I'm sick of the milkshake, quite the contrary. I would like nothing more than to have one 3 times a day for the rest of my time on this Earth. Since I haven't been able to work out, no milkshakes are my self-imposed punishments. This is kind of silly since Mr.Pea and I have been eating tons of barbecue take out like there's no damn tomorrow lately and yesterday I pigged out on Mexican food for lunch. Still though, there has to be some limits.

Should I feel insulted?

I always bring a book with me when I go out by myself just in case I find myself having to wait for something or someone. Today on my way home from an art supply store Mr.Pea called and asked me to pick up some barbecue take out. After I gave my order, the guy who took it told me it would take about 15 minutes and pointed to the Starbucks on the other side of the parking lot. I said I would just wait on a bench and pointed at my book. He looked at me like I was an alien and said(incredulously I want to add),"You read?!"

I didn't say anything back since I don't know what kind of response that question called for.

Hippy or not to be

Whenever I make friends with a Baby Boomer, I always ask questions about what it was like growing up in the 50s and 60s. Especially the 60s because it was a decade of so much change. A really good friend of mine answered a question in a way that sums her up in one sentence. I asked," So, you were a hippy then? Or weren't you?" She said, " Well I wanted to be but I didn't like the clothes...."

It's the simple things I love so much LIST

I'm feeling a little like a spending machine since I've been shopping so much for badly needed winter clothes(I'm pretty much done except I need some warm shoes, in case anyone who loves clothes wanted to know:O) ). I wanted to write down some things I love more than 'stuff' and don't cost a fortune. In no particular order:


-Ice cold Chocolate Milk

-Wind

-Feet buried in the sand

-Freshly changed linens and shaved legs

-Clean hair. It is the solution to every problem. Depressed? Wash the hair. Feel sick? Wash the hair, and so on and so on. I'm not sure how it works but for me it does work. sort of.

-Sound of rain and (eek, sorry Peanut) THUNDER

-Homemade Mac-and-cheese. Yes, I cook. dammit

-The smell of coffee. Need I even go on?

-Used book stores(ok I spend money in these places but never more than a few dollars so it doesn't count....plus it's recycling...well it's my damn list and I say it stays)

-The crunch-crunch-crunch sound snow makes under rubber boots(I won't be getting any of that since the last time I saw snow in Florida was when I was 16)...(I am 31, in case anyone wanted to know)

-The deep breathe I take when I finish a painting

-The sound of my MIL laughing at my jokes because it means my French made sense

-Pinching earlobes. Mostly Mr.Pea's but whoever's available. I've been known to sneak up on a nephew or two and pinch their earlobes as well.

-The song a white-throated sparrow makes. I only ever heard them in Canada and I didn't know what they were called so I called them,"Les oiseaux qui chantent la chanson triste" which means,"The birds who sing a sad song." It didn't make me sad though, it made me happy. I must be missing Quebec.

-The blue color of the sky when the sun has gone down, no matter how many times I try, I can never capture it on canvass. Never.

-A book/movie that's so good, I'm still wondering about the characters after it's over.

-The 'stampede' noise from Peanut's feet when he's happy about something

-A handkerchief my beloved Grandpa gave me when I started crying at my sister's wedding. It still smells like him.

-A blue clay owl I made in kindergarten. It is one thing I would grab if my home were on fire.(besides my husband and my dog of course....you knew that right?)

-Cherry flavored Jolly Ranchers


That's enough for now. What do you treasure, dear readers?

House Rules Recap

Because apparently, someone forgot and needed a reminder.

House members who do this:






On foul smelling dead things are subjected to this:



Escape attempts are futile.

Putting the tail down in an attempt at getting pity is also futile.

Trying to jump over "bathgiver" who is offended by foul odors' leg just makes bath punishment take longer.


Sad faces will also be met with steel coldness and bath will continue. Fellow occupants are perfectly aware of a certain house member's enjoyment in dousing himself in stenchy, putrid odors. However peace in the home requires cleanliness and absence of dead fish aromas. Sorry......

Overheard at the mall

All of my nephews have good manners. Of course they are boys. But I could go out to eat with any one or all of them and not feel like I have to apologize to our server or the other customers. They will grow up to be productive members of society because my sister taught them to respect themselves, respect others and behave. Not just in public but at home as well. I'm the last person on Earth to give parenting critique and I did grow up in a VERY strict home, but doesn't it seem like people are more interested in being best friends with their kids instead of teaching them how to behave? Kids aren't perfect and shouldn't be expected to act perfect, of course but I overheard a conversation yesterday that made me remember that there are a lot of parents out there who are just doing it right.


The Mom: Honey I'm sorry but we didn't come here to get you toys, we came to get shoes. We're going home now ok.

The 4 or 5 year old: Ya' get what ya' get and ya' don't throw a fit. Right?

The Mom: That's right.


I loved it. Must be a house rule or something.....

I have to talk/bitch about clothes for just a second

But it's only because today I'm going shopping for a few warm things. Ok, I hate winter clothing, this is no secret. When I put on long sleeves and long pants, I feel like I'm in prison, I'm sure I've said this before but it's worth repeating. And I'm short so certain things can make me completely disappear. But like I said, I'm going to make the most of it. Usually I just wear old raggedy jeans and an old raggedy teeshirt with an old raggedy jacket and call it a day. I want to look respectable this year. And maybe appropriate. Those are two words I hate but I don't want to look raggedy this winter. That's probably why I'm always so damn depressed during that season and I refuse to feel like a bag lady anymore just cuz it's cold outside. I did manage to find a few things I love and I'm looking for some good shoes(I'm sure I'm not the only girl out there who has love for a good pair of shoes). However, I have just one major complaint. If I see one more of those 'word or phrase' outfits, I'm going to strangle myself. You know what I'm talking about right? Those "Juicy" on the butt pants? Those "Team Pink(or whoever)" shirts. Those "I'm hot" or, "I'm flirty", or "Can you afford this?", or "I met your boyfriend on myspace", crap these clothing companies keep trying to force on us. If you happen to like the stuff, don't be mad at me ok. It probably means that you're way cooler than I am, cool enough to get it. I just hate them. I feel like if you have to tell someone what you are by wearing it, you're probably not. Why would I need to tell anyone I was "flirty" on my shirt or on my behind? Ok I do have a shirt that says,"Aloha" on it, but it doesn't announce that I'm "Lookin' for a Sugardaddy" on the front and "I see you checking this out" on the back. Is there something I'm missing? I feel like a old grouchy lady when I say it but maybe I'm just an old grouchy lady then.



*I know I haven't been visiting much but I'll catch up when I get home today.

Friday stuff

*I always sort of don't know how to respond when someone compliments Peanut's handsomeness. Of course I say, thank you. But obviously I didn't give birth to him so it always feels funny. But I say thank you anyway. I feel like if he could talk, he would be polite so I do it on his behalf.



*I have a healthy appetite. But I eat really slow. I never can understand people who eat really fast. How can anyone enjoy what they're eating that way? There are certain people I try to avoid 'lunching' with for that very reason because I feel obligated to eat faster so they don't have to wait for me.



*Today was the first day I had to put on pants and a light sweater for my morning walk. I know that I've been complaining about the oncoming winter and I'm a little mad at myself for doing that. I promised myself after the harsh winter I spent in Quebec that I would never complain about winter in the South again so that means I broke my promise. And when my in laws came to visit a year later, I watched the looks on their faces and realized how lucky I was to live where people go on vacation to escape the real winter. So right now I'm re-promising not to do that anymore. In times of cold or flu, though, I usually give myself a general amnesty and just complain away. (I'll try not to do that this year.) I realize how annoying it must be too. Listening to someone who lives in the South complain about how cold they are in the dead of winter is like listening to a bikini model say how fat she feels.


*I've been told that I'm an enabler. It was an Al-Anon help line operator that I called because my close friend fell off the wagon and I was so worried, I didn't know what I should do. This happened a year ago and I laugh about it now because I screamed at the poor woman and told her she didn't know what the hell she was talking about, then hung up. The truth is, she was right. When Mr.Pea and I were renting a guest house apartment, the guy who lived downstairs from us was so obviously an alcoholic. Every Thursday was recycle day and there were always 3 or 4 empty vodka bottles in the bin we shared. He always covered them up with water bottles or plastic bags. I didn't even know the guy but I would find myself re-covering the bottles if somehow they got uncovered. I saw this in an old Meg Ryan movie my friend forced me to watch with her when she came home from rehab this past Spring and we could not stop laughing at me.

oops

-I scratched the car backing up Sunday night. I was hoping MrPea would be the one to put the first scratch on the car but, no, it was me. Well I sort of blame him anyway since I was backing up from picking up his order of chicken wings. So it's sort of his fault. I got so freaked out that when I stopped to look at what I backed into that I stepped into the biggest nastiest puddle in the parking lot and ruined my flip flops. In my defense how in the hell was anyone supposed to see 2 small concrete planters? Damn chicken wings.

-I went to my beach again yesterday. Normally when people pass by while I'm looking for teeth, I smile hello but keep to myself. If anyone asks me what I'm looking for, I quickly say,"Nothing! How are you and what a pretty day!" and go about my business. This is because if they are fellow fossil seekers, they already know what I'm doing and won't need to ask. So I'm not about to tell complete strangers with no appreciation for what I'm doing so they can go and tell all their damn cousins and friends about the BEST kept secret in Florida that is this beach. These hypothetical strangers are probably not locals and staying at one of the shishifoofoo inns, and leaving their trash all over my favorite place in the world. I'll try to be as charming as growing up in the south has taught me how to be but I won't tell them what I'm doing especially since what happened to that last secluded beach I loved so much.(it got developed and has a big f-ing parking lot now because everyone found out about it and how beautiful it is)

But yesterday I was feeling a little snotty(in a good way) so when a friendly older couple came by to say hello and ask if I was finding anything good, I said(haughtily, I should add) "Oh yeah, just look at all these beautiful teeth! Isn't it a great day for this?" I noticed that they had a few teeth as well, other wise I wouldn't have showed them mine. "Can I see yours," I said," have you found any bull shark teeth, that's the only one I don't have in my collection." The husband said(modestly, not arrogantly at all),"oh just a few," and pulled some out of his pocket that were as big as quarters and made the biggest one I've ever found seem like a sunflower seed. He also showed me a piece of tooth that was obviously from a megalodon. "Oh," I said. This put me in my place.

I saw them later on and they were so nice to me and gave me some good tips, something I would NEVER have done because I'll admit it, I'm stingy about anything to do with this beach. He also showed me some fossilized whale bone and sea turtle shell and identified a piece I've been collecting for years that I thought were shark vertebrae as puffer fish mouth plates. The wife whispered the names of a couple places I could go to look for mammoth bones if I wanted to and told me not to tell anyone. This really put me in my place.
I should be nicer to people when I'm there, if I hadn't made friends with this couple, the thought would never have occurred to me that anyone would give me any tips just for the sake of protecting this beach(something I can understand because I feel the same way that's why I was acting the way I was). But I should have known that anyone who has enough patience and appreciation to hunt for fossils would have the same love as I do for this beach.


(I did end up finding what appears to be fossilized bone. I don't know what kind though.)

The cure for everything

My ailment? Family drama: a poisonous person's conniving/manipulating and selfish, negative behavior that caused a rift between me and a loved one, toxic feelings. I might have to cut someone I love very much out of my life just for my own emotional and mental well being. I don't know if I'm strong enough, I want to be. It's either that or MrPea and I can pack up our dog and move to Antarctica. Today I escaped for just a couple hours.


I had barely been at the beach for 5 minutes when I saw an osprey flying over head. I thought to myself, I hope he catches something close to me so I can see.



Then he dived.

If only I had a better zoom!



I thought he might have missed.



But he did get a big fish.




I read that these birds turn the fish to face the direction they fly for speed. They also mate for life.




Click on this one for a better view of the fish in his claws.





And away he goes. (Or she. The females hunt for food as well!)




There was a strange salty foam on the tide line. I sometimes find the bigger teeth here because they are shinier when still wet so I thought I would have a hard time. But I didn't do too bad.




I'm not sure but that strange piece in the upper right hand corner looks like a vertebrae. Whether or not it's from a shark, I'm only guessing. But I always pick those ones up too.




Check out that big one on the lower left!!! By the way my hand looks greasy because I took a break to put on more sunscreen. Those scallop shells will make good additions to a picture frame I've been working on.


Can you see a little bird? He's hidden well.




See him now? I don't remember the name of this species but I remember from my marine biology class that they come from the NorthEast to spend the winter here. This one must be early because he was the only one I saw. Either that or he's keeping this beach a secret as well.




I was getting ready to go home when I found this last one.

I was there for a 2 1/2 hours and I do feel better.

Not feeling well again

Not cancer related, just feeling a bit sick. I'll be up to my old tricks in a couple days. I'm supposed to have one more radio-iodine pill in December and assuming my body scan comes out clean, after that I should be finished. Then my doctor and I will be able to figure out a more balanced dosage of thyroid hormone so I can feel normal once more. It hasn't been so bad though, I just like to indulge in acting the baby so everyone can feel extra sorry for me.(wink)


Weird things have happened, the past couple weeks. First the crazy lady at the library who I offended. Then some creepy man was following me around at Big Lots. This was an incident I deemed unblogworthy since every woman on this planet has the same experience, just at a different location. (Ladies are you nodding your head and conjuring up the past? Ok, just insert my little face into your experience and pretend it was at Big Lots and that's what happened.) Also, few days ago, I lost my temper and called some poor man an idiot. I won't go into the details because it was so silly and I admit that I was wrong. (In my defense I don't think he heard me) But that's not the end of it. Today someone flipped me off. My offense you ask? I had just picked up some pasta for my MrPea since I was too lazy to cook today and was parked in the restaurant parking lot, applying lip gloss. Yup. A bearded man I've never seen in my life who had just dropped, I'm assuming a waitress off drove by and since I was using the rear view mirror I saw him stick his middle finger up and made a mean face. I looked around to see if maybe there was someone else he could have meant that for but I was the only one in the parking lot. I can only assume that I was the victim of mistaken identity. Or perhaps he was crazy lady at the library's total BFF. Or maybe he was against lip gloss on principle. He could also have just been picking his nose and not flipping me off at all. It could any one of those explanations. I prefer to think he was the guy who I called an idiot's brother. That way, a middle finger would have been warranted. In this case, I can forgive. It's not likely though because the guy who I called an idiot was fairly handsome, tall and had dark hair and this guy was blond and had scary eyes and a scraggly beard. But I forgive him anyway.



OH! And I just found out it's Delurk Day. So, ya know, Delurk already dears.