Naples Weekend

So, Joe and I went to James's new home for the weekend. We had a great time, and the 4.5 hour drive, once we made it through I-4 rush hour, was not too bad.

Once we arrived, we had the grand tour, and I was impressed. It's a beautiful home, and by the time it was time to head back to New Smyrna Beach, I didn't want to leave. His home is full of natural light, and large sliding doors that lead out to the pool area to give it an airy, open feel.

This is a pic from the Master Bedroom:

Here's a short video I did the next morning:

Joe got to pick out "his" room, and he chose the one I thought he would--the downstairs bedroom at the end of the hall that offered lots of privacy, and a little nook where he could set up his computer center.

We were pretty tired after working and driving all day, so we didn't stay up too late. The next morning, while Joe slept in, James worked on getting the sprinkler system working, and I set up the "theater room." The prior owners had left all their movie posters and I was delighted to see many of my favorites on the wall. James bought a 4K curved TV before he moved, and that thing is super awesome.

I predict this is the room we will hang out the most in...and yes, we'll do something with the wires, possibly wall mount the TV...

After Joe woke up and we had breakfast on the patio, we drove into town for some necessities, like some filet mignon and chicken to bbq by the pool later that night. We also went to an outdoor mall and had ice cream and macarons. I think I saw more Maserati's in the parking garage than I've ever seen in one place. But maybe the coolest car was this BMW. Never seen one like it!

Speaking of cars, James and I decided against the Dodge Hellcat. Instead, since we are new business owners and have to project a certain image, we decided to look at Audi. I don't know for sure if that's what we'll get, but we're looking at that type of car now. James likes them, and I think they're nice too.

After the mall, we decided to head to Big Lots (I know--the Wal Mart of HodgePodge) to see if there were any already assembled desks that would fit in the nook for Joe's room. On the way, Joe spotted a two story Barnes and Noble, so we had to stop. We picked out a family-type trivia board game for ages 15 and up to play later.

Then Joe started to feel a little carsick, so we turned around and headed back to the house, butstopped by Target for dinner fixins and a small poster board and markers for a school project Joe had to work on.

When we got back, we went upstairs and watched some 4K nature stuff on the TV while playing our new game. I won but it was a close game. Joe technically won because he got the 20 chips needed to win first, but we extended the game to 25. James had led the game at many times, but I'm too competitive to let him win. Lol. He made up for that by skunking me in a game of pool, later. Well, the first game he skunked me, sinking the 8 ball before I could even get three in. The second game, we were each down to the 8 ball, and my shot was set up perfectly, and I sunk it easily....along with the cue ball. Lol. So, James won again.

I also got to teach Joe how to play pool (he's never played), and I think he'll be good at it.

James had received an Amazon Alexa gadget for a housewarming gift from the realtor, and we all had fun playing with that. For the pool games, we had Alexa play different kinds of music. I was impressed with the sound quality.

While we played pool, the BBQ grill was fired up, and we made teriyaki bbq chicken and filet. It turned out yummy. We also had rolls and corn on the cob, which Joe loves.

We'd picked up a basketball for the hoop in the front yard, but by the time dinner was over, it was getting dark, so we went back upstairs and watched YouTube videos while Joe worked on his project.

The day went by too fast...

The next morning, we woke up, had breakfast by the pool, then walked a few houses down to the community pool and gym. The neighborhood also had tennis and basketball courts, and the gym was really impressive.

When can I move? I really didn't want to leave, but I still had to do laundry for work the next day, and Joe had more homework. So, we said our goodbyes and drove home. Joe REALLY enjoyed the weekend and wants to invite a friend to come with us next time.

Before I move, I'll have to give three months notice to work and to my landlord, and get rid of nearly everything in my house. That's gonna take some time...and I'll have to help Aidan either get a new apartment (she was going to move out this month, but that fell through), or help her get established at a new job in Naples. There's still a chance she might take a job in Arkansas, too.

And I'd have to have at least a part-time job lined up in Naples, too. I could work full time on our business, but it will take time to make enough profit to do so, I think. We're looking at our options...

Anyway, it was a great weekend, with great warm weather, and great company. It felt like we were a family, and I've missed that feeling. I'm hoping Callie will also move back in the summer...

But, it's back to work today, so I've got to switch out of daydreaming mode and get focused. Lol. Oh, and here's a picture of the Terrible Kits...

Tiny Terribles Have Arrived

SO, Terrible, Aidan's cat that's really still just a kitten, HAD KITTENS OF HER OWN YESTERDAY.

I'd noticed she was fat, and even thought she looked pregnant, but I just didn't see how it was possible, because she's a house cat, and our other cat, Zuri the Tolerable, is also a female (spayed, thank God).

Well, it turns out that one night when Terrible was in heat (Aidan was actually planning to get her spayed that week, but for some reason didn't), Aidan put her in the garbage for a few hours in the early morning so she could sleep.

It turns out the garage wasn't all the way shut, and Terrible must've squoze her little freakishly flexible body under the 4 inch gap.

And found a male cat happening to be wandering around our nearly outdoor cat-less neighborhood. I guess the stars aligned for love that night, and yesterday we welcomed FOUR tiny Terribles into the house.

Aidan called me at work, with an edge of panic in her voice:

Aidan: Momma! Trappy is having her kittens! What do I do? OMG OMG OMG!
Me: Stay calm, lol. Where is she having them? (I'm imaging right in the center of my bed, out of spite for calling her Terrible)
Aidan: On Monet's pee pad (Monet is pee pad and outdoor trained, but has stayed away from them and having occasional accidents on the tile floor as Terrible seemed to be making a nest there). I wonder if Terrible had somehow communicated to Monet that she had claimed that spot to have her kitkats.
Me: How many?
Aidan: Just one so far.

Well, four or five hours later, there were four kittens.

Last night, before I went to bed, I went to check out the little terrible things. They're so tiny are weird. I rubbed Terrible's tummy, because Karen at work said that she had a friend that said cats can sometimes give birth to another last kitten up to 24 hours after.

I felt another kitten in there, but it wasn't moving. I'm afraid it may be dead...so I haven't really looked into what needs to be done about that, but it hasn't been 24 hours yet, so I'll wait a little longer.

Sometime around midnight, Aidan came in my room, almost frantic with worry.

Aidan: Trappy is in my room, away from the kittens and trying to sleep with me.
Me: It's your terrible cat. Figure it out (I didn't really say that. What I did say was: So, move them all into your room).
Aidan: Okay.

So, Aidan carried the blanket I'd provided and carried them up to her room.

At 4:00 am, I heard this awful mewling noise that sound like a tiny cow lowing in spurts. Muaw, muaw, squeak, maw.

Despite the grating sound, it served as an alarm, because I was still sleeping. I got up and noticed Terrible had a kitten in her mouth, in my room, and was trying to squeeze into my closet.

"Oh, no you don't," I said and picked them up and gave them a gentle shove out my door before closing it. So Terrible took it back up the stairs. Lol.

However, I know Aidan will go into my room after I go to work to "borrow" something like my shampoo or a tee shirt or a host of other things (I have to constantly buy bags of socks, because she constantly "borrows" mine, and they're never seen again.

And she will leave my bedroom door open, and when I get home today, I have a feeling there will be kittens in there.

So, anyway, Aidan has a big job on her hands to find homes for these things. And she's moving into her own apartment on the 15th, so I hopes knows she's taking the Terrible Family with her. Lol.

According to her FB post, she's named them.

But on second thought, maybe their names should be Kabob, Sushi, Fried Chicken, and Cake, because that's what the hawks would call them before they swoop down and pluck them from the side of the road. KIDDING...I'd never do that.

The whole cat thing reminded me of this coloring book I almost bought for James, because he actually loves cats.

Anyway, that's the big news here. I guess Aidan has already found homes for 3 of the kittens, so that's good.

At work, reps have been bringing me and Karen candy. I got this yummy thing (now eaten) yesterday:

And here's a pretty Florida sunrise from just a few days ago. 

For Poem Purists

I've posted this on ChaseChat and MW, but thought I'd repost here so everyone could see.

The poem is sorta like a recipe, or an equation. You follow steps in order to produce a correct result.

Now, I'm not going to explain every step, as that would give away too much, but I'll tell you what I believe IT is, at least in a couple of sentences, because IT doesn't refer to the same thing throughout the poem.

If you look at all the contractions in the poem, you have:

It's
There'll
You've
I've
I'm

FF talks about leftovers that could fill a book that's yet unwritten. What fills a book? Letters fill a book. What letters can be considered leftovers? The ones omitted by apostrophes. Those are the "lost" letters. Just as Forrest shortened Edard from Edward to save time, we use apostrophes to shorten words in order to save time and space.

So let's look at the "leftover" letters:

It's = It is = I
There'll = There will = W I
You've = You have = H A
I've = I have = H A
I'm = I am = A

I W I H A H A A

That anagrams to H A W A I I with H A "leftover." Now you need to find what makes the H A complete.

Remember talk of the key word?

"...tight focus with a word that is key."

Forrest has said he was never good with commas and where they should go.

 So maybe we can read the phrase like this:

"...with a word, THAT, is key."

In "Forrest Gets Mail" from last night, Forrest answers a question with:

"The Rangers didn't like THAT, but I did, and I was the one doing IT..."

So, if we go back to the poem, we see:

"So why is IT THAT..."

THAT is HA surrounded by T's, and a clue to what belongs with the leftover HA.

H A W A I I H A   T T

Which anagrams to IT HIAWATHA.

IT = HIAWATHA.

This may be why he didn't include anagrams in the list of things that wouldn't get you closer to the treasure. And by doing what I've just done (me and no one else--this is my idea--mine alone--lol), you're not "messing" with the poem at all. You're not changing letters, or doing anything to the poem. You're simply following instructions.

There are places with references to Hiawatha in all four states, so I don't think I've given too much away. But I did give you part of the method of solving the poem. This should appeal to the so-called "poem purists."

By the way, I am not a poem purist, because the photos and drawings are important, as the MANY references to captions imply. One day soon I'll do a post just about captions and the many ways Forrest has told us they're important. I don't recall anyone else bringing attention to the captions, so maybe I'm the only one thinking about them. After I post my research, though, I think many more will be looking harder at them, too.

The chase is drawing to a conclusion, and good luck to everyone!

Winter Storm

We had a winter storm blow through around midnight last night. And by "winter storm," I mean thunderstorm. It was so loud it woke me up, and that's not easy to do once I'm really asleep. I usually love a good thunderstorm, but this one was a little unnerving, and at one point it sounded like a tornado was just outside my window. But, I quickly fell back asleep, and slept like a baby oil 4:00 am. Lol.

Yesterday was a busy and rough day at work for me, even though I did't have too many x-rays. At least not as many as I normally have on a Tuesday or Thursday. I guess lack of sleep will make anyone testy and achy.

Today should be much easier, and I'll be able to sit at my desk and work ahead on the surgical aspect of my job.

Anyway, not much going on...looking forward to Friday when Joe and I head south to James's beautiful new home. I'm so happy for him, and am happy he's happy. :)

Fool's Gold

So, it looks like Forrest is being playful by having Shiloh list a stack o'money on eBay. The money is a "puzzle" of 247 pieces. Some things in his description don't add up.

This is what $1300 looks like after being chewed up by our adorable little dog. (RIP)

Most of the pieces were scattered about the floor, maybe 10, were swallowed by the poor creature and came out the other end. Guess who got to clean them up? Those scraps survived copious cyclings in our washing machine, and were personally ironed by me.  

There are about twelve, $100 bills and two $50s, as I recall. My granddaughter taped six pieces together but soon rolled her eyes and fled the scene. All the parts are here, 247 of them. A person would have to be crazy to want this stuff. 

The Bureau of Printing and Engraving will replace the bills if “Clearly more than 50 percent of a note identifiable as United States currency is present, along with sufficient remnants of any relevant security feature and clearly more than one-half of the original note remains.” 

Here's what Forrest said about it on Dal's blog:

That Ziploc of torn up money has been in my desk and forgotten for maybe eight years. I figured that since it’s so cold outside, and people are getting tired of playing Canasta, I’d offer a distraction. The hardest part will be devising a system to put the pieces back together. It was not easy for me but I was never accused of being patient. If the sale makes a profit it will all go to charity. f

I think the description is more of a puzzle than putting together the pieces will be.  Why are there the oddly placed commas that make what exactly he's talking about ambiguous? There are about twelve...what? There's a comma after twelve...we assume it's twelve one hundred dollar bills, but could it be there are twelve instances of the number 100 and two of the number 50 (it's interesting to note you can see only two 50's in the pic, and only about twelve 100's)?  And the second sentence doesn't make much sense to me, either. Were the pieces on the floor before or after the dog chewed them up?

And I think (but am not sure), that the money is worthless. I think one-half of the ORIGINAL NOTE means "unshredded." However, I just checked the Bureau of Printing and Engraving's website, and they aren't exactly crystal clear in their explanation, either. It appears that the money "may" be redeemable, but you have to rely upon a government "team of experts" to determine whether you'll get your money back or not. Maybe that's why FF said you'd have to be crazy to want it.

"Free Public Service

• Clearly more than 50 percent of a note identifiable as United States currency is present, along with sufficient remnants of any relevant security feature and clearly more than one-half of the original note remains; or,

• Fifty percent or less of a note identifiable as United States currency is present and the method of mutilation and supporting evidence demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Treasury that the missing portions have been totally destroyed. 

Every year the Treasury Department handles approximately 30,000 claims and redeems mutilated currency valued at over $30 million. Your money is important. However, please know that heavy volume and the precise nature of the work may result in lengthy wait times. Please follow the submission instructions carefully to help us process your claim in the most efficient manner.

Recommended Packing Procedures:

• Regardless of the condition of the currency, do not disturb the fragments any more than absolutely necessary.

• If the currency is brittle or inclined to fall apart, pack it carefully in plastic and cotton without disturbing the fragments and place the package in a secure container.

• If the currency was mutilated in a purse, box, or other container, it should be left in the container to protect the fragments from further damage.

• If it is absolutely necessary to remove the fragments from the container, send the container along with the currency and any other contents that may have currency fragments attached.

         If the currency was flat when mutilated, do not roll, fold, laminate, tape, glue or in any other way

         alter the currency in an attempt to preserve it."

To me, it sounds like you'd just take the pile of money, send it to them, and wait five years while they sort it out. I'm not sure if taping the money invalidates it or not, but their "team of experts" will surely decide for you. 

However, I'm pretty sure the value of the money is not the main motivation for bidding on this item. It's Forrest's, been pooped out by his beloved Bip (guessing), and the profit goes to charity. So, basically a novelty packaged as a challenge, with the profits going to a good cause. 

Well played, Forrest! I wouldn't be surprised if the item sells for much more than it's actually worth, and hopefully it'll serve as a distraction from solving the poem for that "lucky" winner. Lol.

I see the bids are already over $900. I just have to giggle because it's so funny. But I hope it makes a good profit, for charity.

Earliest Memories

In FF's recent Six Questions update, I was sorta...underwhelmed. But that's okay, because there was some interesting things he said nonetheless.

One thing I've noticed not many people talking about (really, no one is talking much about this yearly update) is the incident that happened when he was a year old, and could still remember it. I know what that incident was, and believe it could be important.

Many people can't remember events that happened when they were very young, but I remember several. I was about a year or two old when I discovered cabinets, and that they were nice to hide in. I remember crawling into them, and eventually my mom stopped frantically searching the house every time I disappeared, and just started opening cabinets.

I remember falling off the countertop (I was a climber) when I was a year old.

I remember sitting in between my mom and dad driving down the then dirt road towards our house in Stuart. I remember my mom and dad were having a conversation, and I remember the long stick shift coming out from the floor of the VW Bug.

I remember the coral snake gnawing on my toe as I played with our pet ducklings. I remember seeing it flying through the air when I jerked my foot up to get it off. I remember my dad scooping me up and taking me into the garage to check the "bite." (It was dry)

I remember my mom screaming at us to get inside the house when a large alligator came cruising up the canal.

I remember loving the taste of Vick's Formula 44 cough syrup and my mom had to hide the bottle to keep me from gulping it down. Lol.

And much more from before I was three years old.

Anyway, why do some people remember those early memories so vividly?

I'm not sure, but I seem to remember a study about why only some people remember their dreams in the morning, and that's due to a certain part of the brain being more active than those who don't remember their dreams. I remember many of my dreams, and found it strange when James said he never remembers his dreams.

I found the study...a team of French scientists found that people that recall dreams easily were able to recall 5.2 dreams per week (I have no idea how you can have .2 of a dream) and people who were not able to recall dreams easily could only recall about 2 dreams per month.

"High dream recoilers" have more periods of wakefulness every night, and I can say that's very true of me. Last night, I maybe got 2 1/2 hours of good sleep.

Here is the dreaming part of your brain:

Maybe it's the same way with recalling childhood memories...but there are some theories out there which also help to explain why we remember what we do.

Emotionally-charged events in childhood are better remembered than other, more everyday events. For example, when the coral snake was chomping on my toe, the surge of adrenaline in my tiny little body could've been the ingredient that cemented that memory into my brain.

My mom screaming as the alligator drew near was probably emotionally charged, too.

Why I remember climbing into cabinets, or riding in the Bug, I have no idea.

A study also found that memory of painful events are remembered much longer than those involving physical pain. I guess that's why women have more than one baby. Lol.

Anyway, memory is a funny thing, and still mysterious in many ways. I guess that what makes each of so unique, and what makes every person just as important as the next. Every soul is sacred. No one is exactly like you, no one knows what you do, no one else in the universe experiences life in the same way you do.

When you think about life like that, you can't help looking at your fellow man with a little less judgment. No one will ever fit my shoes, and I can never fit anyone else's. Human nature is only reliable to a point. There will always be exceptions to the rule. There will always be unknowns. And maybe the best thing we can do is accept and seek to understand before we rush to label and judge.

Wagon Mound Walking

Okay, so to pick up where I left off on our road trip from Tucson to Florida, we had crossed into NM and was heading up toward Santa Fe. It was getting late, so I unbuckled my seat belt and laid my head in James's lap, and gazed out the windshield at the twinkling masses of stars against the clear black backdrop of the western sky. Eighties music played on the radio, and I was transported down memory lane; earlier that evening, Joel, my best friend in high school and community college, sent me a Facebook message with pics. One was a picture of a ticket from the second concert we attended together (the first was Cyndi Lauper, lol):

We LOVED REM, and one day, Joel got it in his head that he would drive us in my somewhat new car up to Georgia to see if we could find any band members on the streets of Macon. So, me, Joel, Joey (the drummer for our band), Jan (Joel's cousin visiting from England)and an older friend, BJ, who would act as chaperone, set off for Macon one winter day way back when.

The drive didn't take too long, and as we drove into Macon, lo and behold, Joel demonstrated his immense good luck in picking a street to drive down, because it wasn't long before we saw Michael Stipe himself walking along the edge of the road with a McDonald's bag in his hand.

That experience retains a dream-like quality to me, because I was still intensely shy, and I was looking out the window at one of my idols. And finding that he was just a normal guy--shorter than I was, with kinda stringy hair, but an aura of laid-back calm that I could tell made people feel at ease around him. Joel was stoked and not shy at all. He struck up a conversation as we slowly rolled alongside Michael, and Michael eventually asked us if we'd like to come into the studio to meet "the guys."

I think Joel probably screeched the tires to a stop so fast that dogs started howling five miles away. Anyway, the studio was small, a little cramped, and sorta dark, but the band members had an easy way about them, and a quick wit that had us laughing. I watched them eat thier McDonald's (they offered us fries, but I declined--Joel ate a few, though) as Joel asked them a million questions that I can't remember now.

It was a neat trip and we all ended up with autographed black and white photos. Mine is in a box in the garage. Joel came prepared, though, and I don't remember him having this, but he sent me a pic of  it that night as we trucked along I-25.

Anyway, I'd never realized they'd written my name on there. I was so happy in memories that night, and thankful that Joel sent me the pics.

Around 11:00 pm, we arrived at Heart's Way Ranch, where we would stay in the guest cottage for the night. The winding road up the mountain had me worried that the twenty foot U-Haul with the twenty foot trailer attached wouldn't make it up to the top.

And when the paved road turned to dirt, and the ice and snow covered road curved steeply upward, we were forced to try to park off onto the side of the road as best we could and hike the last half mile up the steep slope, luggage in hand, to the guest cottage. Which we did, and it was hard. But my clumsy on ice self only slipped and fell once.

After a night of sound sleep, we woke early because we had exciting plans in Santa Fe before we got back on the road.

As we walked out of our cottage and headed across the path to the main house where the owner said we could take pictures of the scenic views over the Galisteo Basin and Turquoise Trail, two VERY large dogs appeared from the trees and ran right up to us, barking ferociously. James and I froze and talked calmly to them, but they kept lunging and snarling and barking. I thought for sure one or both of us would get bit.

I videoed the tail end of the bark attack, but I might've deleted...let me check...nope, I must've erased it when storage got full...Oh well, it was pretty terrifying, but we kept our calm, and the dogs eventually ran away.

We had a beautiful view...

Later, on the walk down to the truck, we found a couple women in an SUV that had slid off the side of the road and into a little ditch. We spent about an hour helping to get them unstuck.

Little did we know the adventure we'd experience for the next four hours was eerily similar to what we'd just helped these women escape from.

The truck's radiator was pointing up a hill, and we were on a dirt mountain road. There was a little garage with a clearing beside it, and I thought it wouldn't be too hard to back up into there and turn around. Well, it wasn't easy at all. Visibility was bad, and we got stuck in ice and snow several times before we even backed up onto the small dirt driveway that would just barely allow us to turn around.

And I didn't factor in the ice on the driveway that made the trailer in back slide into a depression next to large heavy logs when he backed onto it. So, we spent four hours digging our way our of that mess. A lady with a Jeep came down to offer help, and she watched as James and I worked together to get unstuck, sometimes with him spotting me while I drove, and sometimes with him spotting me as I drove. The bent arm of the trailer didn't help with maneuverability, so that caused tension.

When we finally had the truck turned around, the lady said, "I have just got to say that you guys handled that really well as a couple." When we said it wasn't a big deal, she stopped us, and said, "No, it really is a big deal. I'm a marriage counselor and you guys handled a difficult problem very, very well together." I think we both blushed.

I'll have to ask James if he took any pics of our snowy predicament, but I think we were both too worried about our plans being ruined for the day to stop and take pics.

Well, the four hours in the snow did ruin our biggest plan, but as we got back on the road, we made a quick stop at Wagon Mound. It was an impressive sight, and what caught my attention was the giant W and M emblazoned on the side of the hill.

Here's an old pic I found on the Internet of Wagon Mound, named for it's wagon shape along the Old Santa Fe Trail. Look, that guy is riding a buffalo!

And below the mountain were train tracks, and an old rail car sat on them, almost in the shadow of the mound. So we found a place to park and walked the tracks to the car and explored. We checked out the old rail car, and then James pointed to something in the distance.

"Isn't that the thing you were talking about?"

I turned and looked. "A semaphore! That must be Levy over there. Let's walk the tracks over there and check them out."

Which is what we did.

On the street where the train tracks crossed, we found this:

And when we reached the semaphore, which is an old train signal and almost extinct in the US (Levy boasts one of the last active semaphores in the US), we found another interesting thing.

Here are a couple other pics around the semaphore. Some grandma probably thought there was too much dirt on the dirt and provided the workers with a broom.

And we saw some cool bird prints in some wet sand:

And James found a railroad spike:

Before we left, we noticed the sun was casting the perfect Fenn shadow, so we snapped a pic of ours..

On our way through Levy, I wanted to check out an abandoned house that some people had posted about on the Internet. We actually found the house, and since we were running short on time, I darted inside for a quick peek, then ran back outside. The interior was dirty, musty with the odor of old newspapers, and rusted appliances lying sullenly on their sides. There were rat's nests everywhere, and the floor was broken through in many places. Thinking I might be next to break my leg in a fall through the kitchen floor, I tread softly right out the door. Lol...

The rest of our trip was uneventful as we drove through the twilight out of New Mexico through Springer and the eerie, otherworldly nothingness of the Kiowa Grasslands. 

There's a little more to tell about this trip, but I'll save it for another time. :)