Ok ok playtime's over...actually not really, it's just bad weather

This was the first New Year that I didn't have an illness looming over me and all kinds of anxiety over upcoming appointments and it's been such a good feeling. I guess I've been celebrating my freedom a little too much. I do have bloodwork a few times a year that I'll have to stay on top for the rest of my life and routine body scans(luckily no body scan this year yay!) but that's the wonderful thing---it's just routine. I'm so thankful that I was able to start the year out that way. It truly felt like a new start. Especially since we're in a new house that we love and feel comfortable in.

It's storming outside and any minute now I might have to grab the Peanut, and run to the downstairs bathroom because there's a tornado watch. I found a really big tiger shark tooth the other day as well as other things that I wish I could be on the beach looking for....sigh. I feel like a little kid whose mom is forcing to stay indoors. I didn't even wish anyone a Happy Holiday, I was having so much damn fun. I've been gallivanting and frolicking on my now, just across the street beach. And I've been so effing exhausted from this move. I do have a peace offering. Take a look at this peeps:

See? I found this last week. ON THE BEACH! This is why I'm always gone. There's always something new to discover. I've never found a spearhead(I did some research, an arrowhead would be smaller so this is a spearhead. Likely used for hunting deer) or any man made artifact before. On the beach or anywhere. I was just walking my dog, not even really paying attention to the ground. The sea and sky were way more interesting and I can't look for shark teeth if Peanut is with me. My eye just sort of fell on it and I thought to myself,"wow that looks like a.....omigosh it is!" Someone made this. A person. Who had a life and a family and skills enough to make something that a little shark tooth huntress would find hundreds, possibly thousands of years later. I would love to know the story behind it. I find myself holding it in my palm often thinking all kinds of happy thoughts. Isn't it beautiful? I won't fool myself into thinking I'll find more. I've never heard of arrow and spear heads being found around here. It's highly likely this one fell in the river north of here and washed out to sea only to be washed back in by the tide. I'm still the Queen of shark teeth so even if I never find anything more than this precious piece of history, the happiness of this one will last a life time. Of course I'll share if I ever do. So we're still friends right?

There's a reddish Hawk that perches on the highest dead palmetto behind my house at least two or three mornings a week. He's wonderful and I'll get a picture of him for you guys. I can identify him as soon as I get a good bird book. I've been referring to him as Eric the Red. I'm scared to go back there because of the marsh and there's all kinds of snakes and varmints lurking about. MrPea bought some really strong binoculars that will come in handy for my birdwatching.

I can't wait til spring.

Me and Horses

This post was inspired by Des.


Growing up, like every little girl, I always wanted a pony of my own. I don't really need to point out why I never got one. It's the same reason 99% of little girls in America never got one. That didn't stop me from dreaming about it though. Looking back, it's probably a good thing considering one or two of my encounters with a horse. But before I tell all about it and you guys start thinking I should just stay away from all animals let me tell you a couple good things:

My Grandparents had this big beautiful magical farm with trees and hills and raspberry picking and catching fireflies and cookouts and loud crickets and everything great you could possibly imagine a kid would find amazing on a farm. I could fill a thousand pages with beautiful memories of that farm. My Uncle had some land adjoining and his cows and horses were sometimes close enough for us to see. We used to save our fruit and carrots and walk down to feed the horses in the evening. I was always a little scared so I would just hold on to my Grandma's arm when she fed them my carrots so that they would know it was "from me" even though I wasn't really feeding them. Ok, that's a good memory right?

The year I was 16 I went to live with my Grandparents on that very same form for a little while and everyday I had to walk down this rock road home from my bus stop. I would pass a field of the most beautiful brown horses I'd ever seen. I used to call out to them or sing to them, anything to get their attention but they always ignored me. Until one day I was walking by singing as usual and one beautiful mare with a white diamond on her face came up to me. She put her face as close as possible so I took it as an invitation to pet her. I stood there petting her a minute and then they all came to say hello. After that day I used to save the fruit from my lunch to feed them and they would walk next to me as far as the fence would allow. Another good one right? They liked me.


My first apartment was near a really big storybook looking church and there were a lot of weddings there. One particular day I looked out my window and there was a big majestic black Clydesdale horse with one of those Cinderella coach thingies. I went out to take a closer look and ask the driver(they're called drivers right?) if I could say hello. He said it was ok as long as I didn't make the horse excited because he was acting nervous that day. Just imagine my bragging voice," OMIGOSH OK? I have so much experience with horses don't worry." So I started to pet the horse and suddenly I feel a burn on my knee and realize I've just been stung by a bee. I started screaming, "OMIGOSH HURTS! HURTS! IT BURNS!!!" The driver got so mad at me. Luckily for me the horse didn't get upset but pretty much looked at me like I was complete idiot. (Yes horses make faces, ask anyone.)

A friend of mine, after high school graduation, moved out to the country with her boyfriend and bought a horse named Pixie. Pixie was a youngish, spoiled beautiful blonde mare and we liked her mane and tail braided with pink ribbons. My friend had this genius idea that she would teach me to ride since I had told her before how much I loved horses from afar and Pixie seemed to like me. Another genius idea she, well ok , WE had was that she would teach me English style riding and that since I was so small and light, I would learn how to jump fences and we would enter local amateur contests and just kick everyone's asses. Sounds real smart huh? We were serious. One winter day I put on some old jeans and dirty Keds and told her I was ready. Ok just for the record, even after falling off several times, I mastered the Trot and Canter and I looked cute when I tried on the outfit. Since we were feeling really cocky because I was really doing well, she decided it was ok to just let me practice on my own all the way back to Pixie's stall. Well Pixie decided not. She just up and decided to just start running like her ass was on fire and here I am clicking the Trot and Canter click, but it didn't work. She didn't want to Trot or Canter in the pretty way we showed her. She wanted to run. I had to let go of the reins and throw my arms around her neck. This seemed to make Pixie really happy because she started to run faster after that. I was begging her to slow down or stop but I'm telling you this horse was enjoying my horror. We got to really busy street and she decided to stop in the middle and kick her leg a few times and buck a little just to scare me some more. I was still holding on to her neck and asking her to stop. She decided to run like hell a little bit more. I saw a fence getting closer and closer and closed my eyes because I just knew we were going to go over whether I liked it or not. Instead of jumping over she decided to turn and run next to it instead. I said thank you for not jumping over Pixie and gave one last try to pull as close to her bit as I could to make her stop. Thankfully she did but not for long while. I slid off, and even though I was PISSED OFF at Pixie I needed to put my arms around someone and no one was there so I put my arms around her and started crying. I think she thought it was funny because she was acting really happy when we hosed her down. Bitch. I still brought her apples but we were never good friends again after that. My friend said not to hold a grudge since Pixie was so young and she probably really enjoyed my attentions because I was much lighter than the people she was used to carrying. Thanks but no thanks. Needless to say I never became a champion horse jumper, or whatever they are called. So much for our great idea.

I made friends with some horses in Canada but because of Pixie, I never got an a horse again. There's a local stable that rents out horses every summer and you can ride them on the beach. I keep thinking one year I'll do it. But then I'll change my mind. Pixie ruined any horse adventure I would ever have.

Just a few things before I leave on Sat

-I found a Power Ranger Tshirt size 5T. It's a size too big but I had to go on a damn oddessy to find it so that baby is going to have to just wear it anyway. I got souvenir tees for the older two but the little one said he likes Power Rangers so I had no choice. I went everywhere. Two different Targets-no Power Rangers. Walmart-nothing. Bealls-nope. Kohl's-uh uh. Kmart-nyet. Finally I broke down and went to the mall. Luckily, I found a Disney store and they had some. Crisis avoided. Go Power Rangers!

-The Disney Store. Um. Yeah. If you haven't had kids yet and were even contemplating the idea of pushing one out, don't go there. And for the record I feel sorry for/hold the utmost admiration for anyone who is so cursed as to have to bring a child there and doesn't end up in a straight jacket. The employees seem to know the inner demons that will be unleashed in kids upon stepping foot into that store and take advantage of it. I saw one following a poor mother around making all kinds of suggestions while the woman, who BTW was clearly on the verge of some kind of emotional breakdown, just said, "yes yes we'll get those honey," just so her kid would calm down. Yep. It's not going to be a destination for the Pea Family when I push one out. I said it. Write it down.

-The baby birds are gone. Should I be worried about that? I mean they were getting bigger and all but I can't believe they would be big enough to just fly away. Is it possible that the mother moved them to a different nest? Does that happen? Please don't say a cat got them. I mean I know it's a possibility but it would be hard for me to believe since no one in my building owns a cat and I doubt any stray would have found them. Plus I'll be heartbroken so I'll have to pretend they didn't like the noise and just moved. The nest is still there in perfect condition. I'm going to have to investigate. Their location was at the LadyNextDoorWhoHatesMe's front doorway so it's going to be hard for me to get some answers from her. I better not find out that she did something like complain about them living in her wreath.

-My trip(s)! My trip(s)! My nephews don't even know I'm coming. I don't know how my sister and I kept this secret for 3 weeks without slipping, but we have. I think she's planning to load them into the car by saying, it's a nice day, let's go for a drive. Oh man, they're all going to get pinched on the belly. One by one. MrPea's and my trip South was postponed until my birthday so I'll be home Wednesday instead of next Monday. I was dying to look for shark teeth down there, but I guess I can wait. I'll try to post while I'm gone but if I don't I hope everyone has a Great Independence day and a safe week.

Random Pix I forgot to show ya'll

Actually I did already post my cellcam version of this one a while back ago but I'm thinking about making a drawing of it to go with my shell in the hand drawing.

It was alive so of course I put it back in the water that day. I even stayed watching it for a long to time to make sure it didn't get pushed back onto the sand by the tide. I couldn't let it go without pausing to snap a picture of it's blue and peach side. I'm sure I've looked up the name in my field guide and forgot it's name but my field guide happens to be in the other room and I happen to be too lazy to get it.

<

Look close.

Closer....see him now.

Yes it's a him, I checked. Unfortunately for him something had already made a meal out of his belly. His color pattern is really pretty and this will definitely make for a good drawing. I haven't decided to use pencils or watercolors for this one.

This is a Southern Toad that Peanut got into a fight with. I freaked out because he's ended up in the animal emergency hospital for getting into a fight with a poisonous toad in the past. So I took a picture of this one so I could identify it and make sure Peanut was not in any danger. He must have tasted really badly because Peanut spit him out right away and started shaking his mouth. Luckily for Peanut that was the only discomfort. MrPea was to blame since he was the one holding the leash(for both times.) His pattern is really pretty too but I'm not a big fan of bumps.

And, as promised here are the baby birds I have been admiring. As you can see the mother bird made a safe nest on a shell "welcome" wreathe. She was there all the time when the eggs were not hatched yet but now I never see her. I was beginning to worry but the chicks are getting bigger everyday so she must just be busy. Click for a closer look.

They are even bigger than this now- I checked on them this morning. I only counted 2 but I'm never close enough to really see because I don't want to scare them.

Last week while using a restaurant bathroom I noticed a very important communication. Take note of it peeps, you might need this information some day:"James is hot." "I agree." I'm not quite sure who this James is but if I find out, I'll let you guys know.

<

And last but not least this was taken last night at 8:30. This is not my beach, it's been too HOTDAMN for me because the wind is still coming from the west. I wanted to look for shark teeth over here but for some reason, there aren't really any here. If the wind doesn't change before I leave on Saturday then I won't be able to look for any shark teeth until next week when low tide is in the evening so it won't be any fun. But the midsummer evening sky is pretty don't you think?

I can't think of a title for this post

Who needs one for a day like this anyway? Can you see a few people stole my idea and are looking for shark teeth. HAHA! They went the wrong way though. All the shark teeth were to the North, and I got them all for myself.

This speckled crab appeared to be stuck. Actually at first I thought it was dead but I noticed him moving when I came to take a picture. I tried to help him but I didn't want to get pinched. I thought best to let the tide do it's job with this guy. What a beautiful pattern.

I don't know if he was really a male or female but I was too scared to pick him up and look. He was ornery so I designated him as a male myself :O)

I found more teeth than this but I took this picture during my snack break and I was too lazy to take another pic so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Who's laughing now?!!

I never leave home without a camera. This is something I get teased about a lot because I like taking pictures and I guess it gets pretty old hanging out with someone whose either constantly pausing to take a snap at any little silly thing or constantly in your face to take a snap of you. But I'm glad I do because:

Look who decided to grace my church parking lot with his presence this morning....

Can't see him? Click on this one. It's almost the time of year when I start seeing them here and there. Although it's a couple weeks early, I've read that they scout around this area for nesting during the month of March...or is it they start hatching in March? Ok I forgot. But it's usually the month of March I see them around, so this one's early for me. But my hospitality knows no bounds when it comes to critters such as these so I'm glad he's early, I hope he stays a long time, and I hope he told all of his Bald Eagle friends about how nice family friendly it is here and they all come and have lots of baby Bald Eagle chicks so I can have more sightings to brag about. Or at least have more chances to get a better shot once I get a better camera. I'm pleased to say that this is the third or fourth Bald Eagle I've seen so far this year and it's only February.

Oh I can't tell you how much I was wishing for a better camera with a good zoom when I saw him. But now no one can say how silly it is to need a camera 24/7. He was so beautiful. See!? I told ya'll Spring was knocking on my door. It's officially Spring for me when I start seeing them, no matter how cold it feels.

<

Oh my star

I wish I had all kinds of scandalous gossip to report but all I have for ya'll this week are dead things. Enjoy...

Walking on the beach this Monday I found this starfish that appeared to have lost it's arm and was in the process of growing another one before it met it's demise on my shore. Alive, it's color would have been a more purpley-bluish.

Yesterday I nearly stepped on this poor puffer fish. He was not as lucky as me apparently....

I wouldn't be smiling if I were him.


I've always thought these guys were cute, spikes and all so I was kinda sad to run into a dead one. He was bigger than any I'd ever seen before, of course the only ones I've ever seen alive were in salt water fish tanks.

Of course I could not end this post without showing off my finds. However I really don't have much to show off. Low tide is just right but maybe the ocean hasn't been rough enough. Because all I found this week were small teeth and sand tiger shark teeth.


I did find that pretty snail shell. I've mentioned before, I don't usually take those home because once my friend's little daughter took one home and noticed the next day there was a hermit crab living inside. I made sure that one was empty so rest assured ya'll. Yesterday was the first time I was able to wear shorts on the beach without freezing so I'm really not going to mope over how lame my finds this week were. BTW for anyone wondering and didn't see that particular post, we did return that hermit crab back to it's home....

Joy to the world!

I know-I know ya'll. Christmas is over. But that's what I feel like every time I put my new favorite shoes on! I even wore them to church yesterday.(yes I occasionally go to church internets...)They don't look very churchy but ask me if I care. And yes they are hard to walk in but I do fine in high heels anyway. I've been wearing them since I was 4and got caught walking around in my mom's shoes. Officially though she started letting me wear heels when I was in the fifth grade. It was probably a mistake. We had a talent show at school and my friend Ann and I were dancing in it. Because the size of the cafeteria was not large enough to accommodate the whole school, there were 3 shows. The first and second show went off without a hitch. The third show however, is filed in the mortification section of my brain. So there I was in my silver miniskirt that my mom had sewn for me. It was actually a leftover part of my Halloween Costume that I was recycling as my talent show costume since the song we were dancing to had sort of a space-like sound, as so many really bad 80s pop songs did. My little partner had borrowed my sister's exact match silver mini so we were thinking we looked so damn cute. I had on some suede pale grey kitten heel pumps lined with rhinestones that I swore I saw Madonna wearing. By the middle of the song, everything was going great. I look over at Ann and she nods at me because we are ready to do our jumps in unison. First jump I heard a rip. No it was not me, it was Ann. She ripped the silver mini! Not enough to really get embarrassed over but 5th grade girls get embarrassed easily. She had a frozen look on her face and I realized she's about to bail so I felt like I had to save the day. I did my jump by myself and to my horror, my shoe flies off my right foot. Suddenly Ann starts laughing really hard(when she's supposed to be dancing not laughing at me!!) and sort of pretends to move towards me so that I can pretend I need to move towards her but really it's because I need to dance to where my shoe landed so I can put it back on. No one laughed at us, it's likely they thought it was part of the show but I was mortified.....

These shoes definitely make up for any embarrassing moment I ever had. And by the way don't make fun of my second toe, I'm sensitive about it. Really. And don't start with me animal people-it's faux snake skin ok. I don't have a problem wearing the skins of animals that I eat but I don't eat snakes so I won't wear them.

And since I'm on the topic of Christmas gifts I thought I would share with ya'll the fruit of another gift from MrPea. I had to take it with my cell cam because I'm still having a problem uploading with my regular cam. It's been a long time since I've used colored pencils, 14 years to be exact, so I'm pretty much learning from scratch all over again. I used a book to help me with this one. I'm still painting here and there but not as much as before because my easel is in storage until we move and my desk is too small.....at least with colored pencils, the supplies are more portable and I can work anywhere.

I'm finally over my nasty Christmas cold and was able to go the beach yesterday. I really shouldn't be out there in that cold, wet ,sea air but I can't help it. My find was nothing to brag about so I didn't even bother to take a picture. I did see what I'm pretty sure were Right Whales. This would be the time of year for them show up. I know I didn't mistake them for dolphins because there were dolphins too. The Right Whales were further off shore than the dolphins. I could see black tail fins and V-shaped blows. It was the first time I ever saw whales before so I was really happy. The dolphins were grey and playing really close to the shore, I'm guessing because the water was calm and it's too cold for anyone to swim so they had the water all to themselves. Who the hell needs Sea World?(Sea World still makes me cry anyway)

Happy Veterans Day

Hope everyone's having a good week.

A skink(not a skank)

I took Peanut to a park yesterday and noticed a funny looking lizard.



My field guide says it a striped racerback anole but I've heard people call them skinks.


**Correction: it's not an anole, it's a Rainbow Blue Tailed Skink. oops

Saw a Lady At the Beach

 

Maybe she was looking for shark teeth too.

What's wrong with this picture?

Well I'll tell you. Some idiot in charge of the golf course across the lake from my neighborhood decided to chop down a dead palmetto tree. Every time I walk by I curse him/her for doing this because this is where my osprey would perch every morning to survey her territory. Now I never see her anymore and have no idea where she hangs out so I feel like I've lost my little morning friend/protector.

This is the before picture.

I will not go on a rant but this is why I disapprove of golf courses. Some stupid person decided that a hollowed out palm is not aesthetic to the golfers and cut down my osprey's favorite dead tree. Bastards!

Lounge Lizard

Pure Laziness. I offer no excuses for why I've been posting so little and visiting even less. What can I say, life is blissfully boring right now. Summer.

Ok in my defense I had such a crappy January, February and most of March with all those health issues. Then my in-laws came in April and I had to speak/comprehend French all the time with my tiny vocabulary, not to mention my poor mother-in-law's emergency surgery. So for the past few weeks I've been filling my mind with much needed 'nothingness'. And it's been wonderful.

Another thing I've been trying to do is get back into an exercise routine. Because of my crappysick winter and the fact that I was stuffing my face when my in-laws were visiting, I put on a few pounds. I only admit exactly how much to my sister. It's not so much the number that bothers me because I'm not really trying to lose weight(however, and small people chime in here, when you're 4'11",an extra 10 pounds might as well be 20) but I just want to be healthy. Strolling on the beach looking for shark teeth is only a workout for my eyes.

Last weekend I went to the pharmacy to get a passport picture taken. My last passport photo was AWFUL just AWFUL. So this time I was ready. Make up, perfect. Hair, check! The poor girl couldn't figure out how to use the camera. She said she couldn't make it zoom so she had to take it from up close. Suddenly about 5 people walked up and started asking her for stuff. She got flustered and confused. So guess who also got flustered and confused thus making a flustered and confused face for the picture? Should I just go ahead and pay the 6 bucks for a new one dammit? Just go to your bathroom mirror and imagine having to solve a difficult math problem. Are you making a face? That's my picture.

Me and my Shadow(box)

Check it out ! I did stuff again...scientific stuff. Yessss! This isn't ALL of my shark teeth, I have thousands more. These are some of the bigger and nicely shaped ones. It was MrPea's idea, sort of. I haven't decided if I'm going to hang it up or keep it on the coffee table. I need to be able to geek out over them when the mood strikes so it has to be easily accessible.

I'm dying to get to the beach to look for some more. It's sunny and warm enough but the ocean wind is still so cold, I'm afraid I'll get sick so I'm waiting til next week maybe. I can't even describe how badly I need to get out there. Maybe that's how addicts feel. Oh but soon. Soon.


BTW If anyone thinks I got the Latin names wrong, let me know.

Oh and I forgot to mention that MrPea found a few himself(but I found all the big ones)

Somethin' good to blog about durnnit

So far Peanut's doctor thinks he's ok. He got some shots and an antibiotic to start tomorrow. And I have to say, he was way more well behaved than any of the other dogs at the vet this morning. I did have a laugh over something I learned: It's just an observation but, you probably look pretty sickly if your own dog's doctor takes a look at you and asks,"Have you been unwell? Do you need to sit down and let the vet tech hold Peanut for you?" Especially since I don't go around telling everyone and their cousin(well besides on this blog) about my personal health issues. I just said,"Yes, thanks for asking," because I know he was just trying to be nice and I do really look puffy and pale. But that will be remedied, my friends. I have a therapeutic massage scheduled for Monday after lunch. Yay! I haven't had one in like, never. What about poor Peanut you ask? Well it's his butt that hurts not his back and I'm not going there...and anyway he gets back rubs and belly rubs on command, he doesn't need to make any appointments.

Oh, and I saw a lone bald eagle yesterday scouting around. He was small but beautiful and scary-looking in the good way. I always see them here in March usually just one or two. I've heard they come here in the Spring to nest but don't quote me on it. They are so protected that an entire development had to stop construction for the season when some people spotted some in the area one year. The developers bitched and tried failingly to appeal but I was happy about that actually(Oh I just love developers don't you, they care, they really do). I've been looking for him ever since but I think the osprey mates that live in a dead pine on the golf course may have chased him away, because I know for sure they hatched a chick recently. How do I know? Oh I have my ways, peeps. I have my ways. I did forget to mention that for 3 days before I went to the hospital for the radio-iodine, there were a pair of yellowish golden hawks I couldn't figure out hanging around the neighborhood too. I saw them every morning and they were bee-u-tiful. They, also must have moved on, because I don't see them anymore. It would be nice if I had some pictures for you guys wouldn't it? But I'm too lazy to drag my camera around with me so you'll just have to take my word and imagine I guess. Poor you peeps, ya'll missed out. I've been down with the birds of prey lately haven't I?

And oh no(!), I saw a small alligator swimming in the lake behind our building. I'll try to get a pic of her tomorrow, I know where she's been hanging out. I make it my business to figure these things out. Not by the pool like last year's monster, but thankfully on the golf course side. I just hope some idiot doesn't decide to take matters into his own hands and try to feed it or harm it , it's too little to really pose any threat right now and will likely move on to the bigger marsh nearby. I'm not aiming for me or Peanut to be her lunch but there are professionals to take care of those issues. It's that time of year again. I'm actually thanking the heavens because it means we're into Spring. Couldn't have come at a better time.

Mittens. The cat I sometimes babysit

I'm sure I've posted a pic of him before but I took care of him last week and took some more pictures since he was in a cooperating mood. I saw him jump from a stool to body slam Peanut once or twice. He likes a ratty old pink bunny, crumpled paper, laser lights, staring contests, hidden fingers under the pillow, and-oh- I almost forgot, kneading.

I love him more than he loves me, as it is with all cats. I beg for his love but he prefers stalking and attacking me instead. Once in a while, he'll sit behind me on the couch with his tail around my neck and look at me with his eyes half closed which, I've been told, is cat language for,"I like you, let's be friends." So I'll just have to be happy with that.


Captions welcome in the comments.

Walking In The Fog

3 weeks down without the Synthroid and one to go before my appointment with radiation. dammit. I made a conscience decision not to drive until I'm back on that thyroid hormone replacement and feeling normal again because I've started having a hard time concentrating, am feeling sluggish and uncoordinated. I'm not complaining, I promise but since I'm having an honest moment here the achy-ness and swollen joints are enough to drive a girl mad. And did I mention my face and eyes are so puffy, I look like the Michelin man? I have to admit there's a mild depression plus a teaspoon of anxiety there too. It's normal and completely hormonal, well actually, due to the lack of hormone now that I think about it. But however mild, it's put a dip in any creative energy/motivation. That's not who I am. As much as I'd love to be one of those dark, sensitive artistic types, I'm of the smiley variety so I'm waiting for that part of me to come back. Listening to some really depressing music lately probably hasn't helped much.

This morning though, when I opened the curtains and saw a thick scary fog coming in from the direction of the sea, I got really excited. I hurried up to get myself together enough so Peanut and I could be out there in it before the sun got rid of it and ruined our fun. Fog should be a scary thing for a (sunworshiping)girl like me who's afraid of her own damn shadow. But it's a good scary and the painter I am likes the tricks fog plays on the eyes. Plus I'm just contrary like that.

Angry French hip hop on my ipod again, Peanut and I had a small bounce in our walk. As I've said before I'm not a huge fan of angry music but there's something to be said about a song utterly dedicated to what a baddass one is when you badly need to be reminded that you're a badass too. Smiling at two giggling preteen girls on their way to school, I turned and took the lake trail and stood there in front of the black water for a long time waiting for Peanut to spit out the dead lizard I had pretended not to notice him pick up and carry around in his mouth a few steps back. There were dark, long necked water fowl swimming around close by and they were skittish. I heard a sound in the air, looked up, and out of the fog, the biggest osprey I've ever seen appeared overhead with a fish in her claws. She swooped down on those black waterbirds, not to prey on them but just cuz she felt like it, just to show them who's territory they are in. Dammit. They sort of fell quickly to the side and bobbed back up again like buoys when it was safe. I whispered to myself,"yeah," and realized I'd been holding my breath. I'm not a fan of bullies either but ospreys can never do wrong in my eyes. And that osprey reminded me like no other dirty hip hop song ever could about what a badass is. I'm small but I'm powerful too. Dammit.

I do't understand a word of German

But this video makes me giggle. I'm predicting there will be a pet-cam trend hitting the US sometime soon. You heard it first here. I would never put one on Peanut. His images would be too violent and disturbing, what with his lizard hunting skills and all.

Awh! Twins!

I saw it once in Denver. I even remember Laurie posting about it(the same ones actually) a while back. But I never thought I'd see it here....

A new Starbucks:



Right across the street from....cue drum roll...Starbucks!!!

Granted the new one is a drive through only. But still. Thoughts? Complaints? Praises? What say you, peeps?


Ok on to another strange deja vu like encounter, apparently this bird forgot where he parked.



This one at the library remembered and was showing off his classy Cadillac. I think he may have been there for the Republican primary early voting. Do you think he's a Huckabee kind of bird or a die hard Giuliani guy? He's definitely not a snowbird so I can't tell.


I got asked if I wanted to make any donations on my way in to check out some books. Yeah, with all my medical bills and neither party jumping in line to REALLY get us some f-ing affordable health care instead of talking about it(unless it's an election year), I'm just so full of desire to give away free money I could be buying shoes with instead. That's about as political as I'll get today, I promise. For the record, I was polite.

Moving on, I heard someone at the library actually bragging about the fact the he has never read an entire book before and never watched the news. Um. OK. I won't go into the horror I felt about the fact that this person is there to vote for his party's nominee and perhaps our next president. Ooops, it came out. And there I promised I wouldn't get political again today. Damn.

Sweet Nothing

It's ass freezing cold out and the wind is making all those cool scary noises that I love so much. There's a fire in the fireplace, home-made soup heating on the oven, fresh coffee(pinch of sugar lots of cream!) and a sleeping dog warming my feet. I have so much leftover food from yesterday's feast, I don't have to do anything for dinner. In fact everything I wanted to do today is done, so I don't have to do anything at all. Life is goooood....According to the label on the candle, my home is supposed to smell like The Sea of Amalphi but I've never been there so how the hell would I know?

Remember this guy? He must have told all his friends about our hospitality because we had a Christmas visitor.


I haven't heard from my doctor about my scan results. I'll call around Friday if I haven't heard from her yet. But I imagine if there was something urgent to tell, they would have told me by now. Actually on my last day, the tech who was in charge of my scan was nice enough to show me my scans and(knocking on wood) it looked fine.

But I have to brag about my husband for just a second!! Oh gush! Oh swoon! On the first day of my scan I walked out of the hospital after lying still for three and half hours. I was feeling a little stiff from not being allowed to move, not even to itch my own damn nose- and boy was that mind over matter. Little did I know that someone went shopping for me. Look what my Mr.Pea had waiting for me. Joy! Joy!

My husband married a woman who is not impressed nor desires jewelry, perfume or flowers and prefers books as gifts instead. It must be confusing for him because it's taken almost 11 years to figure that out....better late than never. And what better way to spend a cold day inside relaxing by the fire than with some new books? I'm so loving that field guide...and I'm sure I've seen him taking a peek or two at some photos of beautiful Egyptian queen carvings. Should I be jealous?