V-Day, Anniversary, New Washer, Gators, Birds and THE DESTROYER

 

It has been since before the Hurricanes that I had seen the Gator at the pond at the Library.  Well...it is still there, and a little bigger than the last time I saw it.

Saw this guy who had fish bits to feed them...reminded me of the fishermen in Alaska who tossed fish bits out of their boats and the Eagles would catch them mid-flight and soar off.  Here (above) about a dozen pelicans gather around this lone fisherman.

 Of course, our little girl is always looking out to see what is going on.

One day I see this crane on a barge with two non-survivors of the hurricane.  

    

A few days later THE DESTROYER, ummm, barge had moved over to the other side of the boat ramp, and chewed up and removed boat rubbish to this garbage/rubbish for disposal. On its way over it must have swung by and got that boat that was run aground that I showed in my last blog and got it back into the water, or loaded onto a boat trailer...either way, it is gone.

Although I only got a picture of one Juvenile Eagle, there are two, and boy do they grow fast.  Google AI (artificial intelligence) says, "A young eagle, or eaglet, typically takes around 10-12 weeks after hatching before it can fly, a process called fledging, where a bird leaves the nest and takes its first flight; this involves a period of practicing on branches near the nest before fully taking to the air."  Well, I have seen other photos and clips of these two Fledging Eagles sitting on the nest flapping their wings, but nothing yet of actual flight...but that is coming real soon.

  

Of course, we always have a healthy population of Osprey around.  This nest has at least two, if not three, birds in it, as I can here them chirping when mom and dad are out looking for food.  I thought in the one picture had captured them bringing a fish to the nest, but it was nest repair material, or perhaps bugs in the Spanish Moss it has in its claws.

This is our Fisher & Paykel washer, with the dryer sitting to the left.  On Friday (10 days ago or so) Marcia was doing a load of rags/towels and the washer would not empty the water out.  Called a repair company that had fixed it before, and they said they would be out first thing Monday morning...which they did.  Bad news, the pump is no longer available as a OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and although cheap (his words) pumps are available on Amazon and other places, his company will not allow the repairmen put any parts in that are not OEM.  The washer has been good to us, it is around 20 years old, so we decided to replace it.  I had asked the repair man, a real nice man who even Indy liked, what type of washer he would get and without hesitation he said, "Speed Queen...they just don't breakdown."

 DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH A WASHER IS NOW DAYS????  Well, the low end, on sale, are about $500-$600.  The Speed Queen's are running $1,000-$1,600, depending on model.  GULP.  Bit the bullet, went to Famous Tate's, and got the middle level Speed Queen for just over $1,300 including taxes, delivery, and taking old one away, and a 5 year guarantee.  Saturday (4 days ago, 8 days after the breakdown) it was delivered.  Glad I didn't have my ICE t-shirt on or it never would have made it through the front door.  Because we did not need inlet hoses, they would not hook up washer with the old hose, but they did allow me, reluctantly, to attach the hose before he pushed it in.  I offered him $10 to screw on the two hose lines...no go...go figure...forget that tip!  Yes, that is how rude he/they were, AND, the dryer exhaust hose came loose and blew warm damp air into the condo as Marcia washed clothes yesterday.  Good news, our neighbor Mary had her two boys coming out, and today John was nice enough (and young and thin enough) to get it hooked up for us.  Now, as long as that dryer does not break, we are in good shape for years.  If the dryer needs to be replaced, we are in deep crap because finding a top loading dryer (easier for Marcia to use) will be a hard thing to do.

Yesterday we celebrated our 14th Anniversary!  Around 150,000 miles in a RV.  About 1,400 loads of laundry.  Over 5,000 dinners, same for breakfast, 50% less for lunches which we don't eat each day.  Oh, the list goes on and on...but we made it through the big unlucky "13" years, and headed for number 15!  For V-Day (valentines) we had a leg of lamb, and still have some left overs in the freezer of that...so we decided to have something we don't have very often...PIZZA!  My guess is that of those 5,000 dinners, maybe 100 of them included Pizza!

 

Three Weeks Fly By -- Valintines Day, Anniversary, Repairs

Yes, it has been just over 3 weeks since my last blog posting.  Sometimes I wonder what to blog about, until it gets to the point that there is so much to blog about...

This is a picture of our display case last night with all our light out except for the display case.  We have added a few things to the case...especially this...

 

...a Rose in Glass which is wrapped with Warm White LED lights.  Marcia did not want flowers that died, so I got this to celebrate Valentines Day and our Anniversary which is about 10 days later.  You know, a few years ago I awoke in March and realized that I forgot to celebrate our anniversary...and she forgot to.  Well...lightening struck twice.  On Monday Marcia has a special exam at the Dermatologist due to a 'growth' which turned out to be nothing...but it worried us and she called Friday and they saw her on Monday.  Earlier that week we had talked about what we might have for our 9th anniversary dinner.  By Monday, all thoughts of that vanished and by Tuesday, our day, it was gone from memory...until I woke up Thursday and started laughing.  "What are you laughing about?", Marcia asked.  "Our anniversary!  We both forgot our anniversary again!!!"  (At least the rose under glass was still there...)

 

I also ordered a couple strings of LED Fairy Lights, and some USB cords so that everything could be powered up.  The display case with all the lights is on a timer, coming on at 5 pm, turning off at 11 pm.  Gives us a warm feeling each and every night.

 

The first repair which was desperately needed was re-caulking around the fiberglass cap on the RV, especially on the slide side.  This was a two day, 8 hour project, and we had a huge rain the other day and the leak we had along the slide was gone.  I need to do the other side, but the awning makes it difficult without actually getting up on the roof...so that will have to wait until we get to Sacramento area where I feel more comfortable getting up on the roof.  That side looks to be in pretty good shape, but it just needs to be re-caulked.  I ordered two tubes, and used one, so I have plenty to do that side and the front and back too.

 

A couple of years ago I pulled up the carpet where the slide out covers when it is in, and put down Carpet Squares.  Although it took a number of days to pull up the original carpet and prepare the floor a few years ago, to replace this same area now is fairly simple...pull up an old tile, put down a new one.  Bought two boxes from Home Depot for about $75, the same style as last time.  Over two days, about three hours each day, I replaced the carpet.  Using some left over from last time, I only used one box, so the other one will be taken back to Home Depot for credit.  Heck, for what I paid for, I couldn't have rented a shampoo machine with cleaning chemicals for much less, and this looks so new again.

 

Meanwhile, the fluorescent light in the Guest Bathroom started acting up...looked like it needed a new ballast, a type which is not easy to come by now days.  So I did the same thing I did in the Master Bathroom and also in our kitchen...I put in a LED shop style light.  The hardest thing was working in the small space over the sink / toilet area while standing on a step stool.  Thank goodness this was our last light system like this, and these LEDs are suppose to last for many, many years.  Sure nice having lights come on immediately when the switch is turned on, and not a 2-4 second delay, flicker, flicker, flicker as the fluorescent started up.

 

I have groomed Bubba a few times since we have been home, and have taken him to the dog park a few times, and make sure he gets his treats a couple of times each day.  Bubba turns 17 this year, and he is really showing his age.  He has a heart murmur, and sometimes he has this cough which will last a few days, especially if it is hot and humid.  With the cold front going through this past Wednesday, dropping our temps back down to the 60's during the day and high 40's at night and low humidity, he has been much better these past few days.  But then he hurt his leg yesterday jumping off this chair where his bed is on, taking a big awkward slide as he hit the floor.  Didn't cry out, but was limping real bad. So his bed is not relegated to the floor, although he keeps looking for the chair before remembering there has been a change.  Two baby aspirin last night gave him a good nights sleep, and is better today.  Oh ya, the maintenance man caught me giving Bubba his afternoon break out back the other day.  He drives his golf cart up to me and asks, "So, I guess things are all settled now, huh?"  I said, "I have not heard ANYTHING from ANYONE, but I figured no news was good news."  He went on to tell me that the lawyers told them to back off immediately...would have been nice to get a letter or a 'knock on the door', but they chickened out and asked Ken to tell me next time he saw me.  I wondered why he was driving around our backyard a lot this past couple of weeks.  

Well, that just about wraps things up, doesn't cover everything, but covers the major items that I can remember.  Two more months and we are off again on another trip...details to follow 'one of these days', probably not soon though.

Replaced at Sister’s House…WHAT Are We Going to Do????

Home in Holiday / Tarpon Springs area, FL

  

Skruffy:  “WAIT JUST A MINUTE!  What are those BIRDS doing in OUR backyard?”

Bubba: “Now look Skruffy, this isn’t the first time that MONSTERS have been in Uncle Arny’s backyard.  Besides, I am surprised YOU can even see them the way YOUR eyes are going downhill.”

“Well, at least my snoring wouldn’t scare them out of the backyard…heck, I can hear your snoring all the way at the condo…and you are probably miles away.”

“Look Skruff, last year we shared the backyard with two or three monster Geese.  I am SURE Uncle Arny will let me stay again…as for you, well, that I just can’t guarantee…you know, Uncle Arny LOVES me, he only TOLLERATES you.”

“But Aunt Sandy picks me up and rubs my tummy…she NEVER rubs your tummy.”

“Maybe because NO ONE rubs my tummy…I don’t like that.  Anyway, don’t panic, I am POSITIVE we will be able to stay at Uncle Arny and Aunt Sandy’s house again this year.  Now, let’s plan our attack on these Turkeys…First thing, we need to call our cousins, you remember them don’t you?”

You mean the one that jumps a mile high, and the other one that looks like a Pharaoh?

Yes, our good ole pals, Parker and Charley …

Monday we celebrated our 8th anniversary.  We celebrated by…

No, not get in a fight…we went to our favorite Greek Restaurant…Mama Maria’s

This is Marcia’s brother Mike, taken while we sat drinking coffee before church a few years ago.  Mike was the Police Chief of Tarpon Springs before he retired awhile back.  Anyway, we got a call on Friday that he was in the hospital…fainted on his bed was the first prognosis.  By Sunday they felt pretty sure he had a mild heart attack…by Monday they said he had high blockage in three arteries.  Problem is that the hospital he is in does not do bypass surgery, so off to Clearwater he went today.  They say his case is “Urgent” but not a “Emergency”, and the Clearwater Hospital was busy over the weekend.  Tomorrow they will start testing his lungs, full blood work, etc. etc. in preparation of having his surgery.  We HOPE his surgery will be Thursday or Friday…but it might be next week since he really seems to be doing very well.  I am sure he would love to get out of that hospital bed…

Here that same day is Bob and Nancy sitting with Mike.  Nancy has been having problems too, and is in a Care Center, which is where they put people who need medical attention, but not hospitalization. 

We also got notification that my oldest Aunt, Vera, up in the Kansas City area, is in the hospital too.  Some days she is back to herself, other days she is very lethargic.  Wasn’t a stroke, but something just is not right.  Above is Vera with my cousin Cassie…taken I think last summer (stole off of Cassie’s Facebook page).

Winter is tough on the elderly.  Mom and Dad always seem to catch a cough each winter which lasts for a few weeks.  Saw where a fellow Rotarian passed away a few weeks ago in Arkansas, and another acquaintance is very sick. 

Luckily, Marcia and I have not been sick for a number of years now.  Oh there are days where we don’t feel our best…but overall we have been healthy.  Marcia completed her last yearly doctor’s appointments, and all is well.  I see my doctor in April while we are going through Arkansas, but overall I feel fine.  We sure hope you are staying away from the sick bug…if not, our thoughts and prayers go out to you too.

Six Years and Counting

Every year that I have known Marcia, I have sent her flowers for Valentines Day.  The first time was six years ago before we got married.  The good thing is that they normally last through our Anniversary, which, by chance, is today.  Since we were gone over Valentines Day this year, I waited until our Anniversary to have the flowers delivered.  I LOVE 1-800-Flowers.com!  Easy to use, they deliver out of Southern Florida, so I know the flowers are fresh, and when they come, they bloom out in a day or two.  I had them delivered on Friday…and all went well except for when Fed-Ex sent me a text to say they had been delivered, but when I opened the door they were not there.  I quickly got in the car and traveled the circle around the Condo Complex to be sure they did not deliver to the wrong door…they didn’t.  I come back inside, call 1-800-Flowers.com and just as they answer, I hear the faint knock at the door.  I figure the driver was in the neighborhood and scanned the flowers, which prompted the text message, and by the time he got here, well, I was worried.  All this time, Marcia is taking a nap and is unaware of what is going on.  When she awoke, she again was surprised.  SCORE!  (Yes, that is a water color of Bubba above the flowers.)

“Hey, if Bubba is going to be in the blog, what about me?”  Ok Skruffy, show off your new hair cut and let me get back to the story…   Of course, Anniversaries don’t always go as one expects.  Like two years ago when I remembered the anniversary on…March 1st.  Didn’t even get the month right.  Read all about it by clicking here.   “Hey Dad, you really didn’t show what you did to me…”

Ok Skruffy, there you go.  Yes, I gave her a buzz job.  Thought I had the #4 blade in, but I had the #7 blade in, and by the time I caught on…it was too late.  At least it wasn’t the #10 blade, that takes it all the way down to nothing (the larger the number, the shorter the haircut).  Had Bubba over for another night visit and I cut around his face, his paws and his ears.  Saw an opportunity to sneak him out this morning, and did so before I took any pictures of him.  Got him over to Petco for a nail trim, and got him back to Uncle Mike’s house.  Asked the young lady who did the nails if he cried, and she said, “Only a little whimper here and there…”  I told her that I was to do it he would whimper, whine and then let out the biggest shriek…I just can’t take it.  Worth the $10 to not face that shrieking squeal cry that he has. Anyway, Bubba is doing real well, and he enjoyed the visit...I think we all enjoyed the visit.

 

Here is better shot, but it looks like she is mad at me, but she isn’t…at least I don’t think she is…maybe not "everyone" enjoyed Bubba's visit...either that, or someone does not like her short haircut.

Bad Boy Forgets Anniversary

   

Oh, I can hear the cries out there in BLOG READING LAND, how could you possibly do such a thing?  You are retired, have less pressure……HOW could you POSSIBLY FORGET your FOURTH Wedding Anniversary?

HEY DAVE, they have Rings which warm up to help remind you of your Wedding Day!!!!  (Yes, but Dave can’t wear rings, his fingers turn green, blister, etc…..not a pretty site.)

Marcia and I married on February 25, 2011, a cold, wet day in Pine Bluff Arkansas.  Other than the preacher friend of mine named Robert, who performed the ceremony, it was just the two of us, with Skruffy in the car, barking of course.

Here we were on that date…what a lovely UNFORGETABLE day that was indeed.

So, how did I forget?   Beats me…..  When did I remember????   This morning, March 1st…..yep, I didn’t even get the right month!!!!   Hit me over the head with a stick!   Beam me up Spock….well, can’t use that line anymore, God rest his soul.



So this morning I wake up, around 6:10 am, have a “not so common” headache.  Get up and take an Aleve, lay back down hoping the headache will go away by 6:45 when we typically get up on Sunday for church.   I start wondering in my groggy morning mind just how long I might be able to lay down in case my head doesn’t feel better in 30 minutes.   Now what time does church start?  Is it 9 am or 9:30????   Let’s see, when Marcia and I dated over the Internet via Skype, she would leave for church at….  “OH NO, THAT WAS FOUR YEARS AGO, I MISSED OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!!!” 

Now I had a choice to make…..

I could just pretend that I did not remember still…..no, that will just delay the inevitable. 

I could “HOPE” that I was not the only one to forget it, that might be right because she keeps thinking our anniversary is on the 28th, which was last night…..I’ll just bet…..

“Hey Marcia.”  

“What?”

“We forgot our anniversary….”

“No we didn’t, hmmm, what is today?”

“Today is March 1st hun.”

“Oh, crap!”

I think they call that, “Dodging a bullet”. 

But it probably wouldn’t have mattered…..because the above is certainly true….and after all, we are still in love.

And now YOU KNOW, the REST of the STORY.