I’m still here...

Just busy. Callie’s off to NYC for a short time with her cousins. Joe is home! So, just lots of stuff going on—school starts on the 14th, and that means lots of busy-ness. I’ll post a good recap of Callie’s visit and Joe’s return as soon as I get pics organized. :)

I'm Still Here...

Will post tomorrow...hopefully, lots going on!

But for your entertainment, here's a bird that says an incredible "Good Morning."

A Quick Hello

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We've been busy experiencing life. Oh, and Donald Trump is an idiot.

Callie is here, of course, and we've been having some really good quality time. It took her a couple days to make the adjustment to Florida time, but Saturday we spent some time in the pool. We have this cool two person float, and after a swim, we got into the float, listened to music, and just talked. Talked about her dreams and goals, her past boyfriends (she doesn't have one now), our memories of loved ones that have passed (like my mom and "Grandpa Jim,") and memories in general. We talked about the University of San Francisco where she'll start college next month. Her grades in high school earned her a private dorm room, and she's excited about that. When we got out of the pool, we made dinner together--bbq chicken and her favorite--mashed potatoes. She peeled the potatoes for me while we sang to my playlist on the Bose.

Sunday, we went to the zoo, which was really hot and humid. It was an interesting place, like a jungle, but would have been a lot more interesting in October, when it's cooler and the animals aren't hiding in the shade near the back of the enclosures. We really liked Athena, a year old Florida Panther rescued when her mother abandoned her, probably because she had three other kits and didn't feel like she could handle them all. The keeper standing nearby told us that Athena was probably the runt, and the weakest, so the mother abandoned her. Since Athena's mother was collared, the people keeping track of her learned that suddenly one cub was missing, so they went out and found Athena in the den, alone. You can find a really nice video with Athena's story here.

I haven't really liked seeing animals collared in the wild, but this time, I'm glad Athena's mother was, because Athena, who would have died, is now thriving. The zoo is getting ready to introduce her to a male in the hopes that they will help to grow the population of the endangered cats.

Here are some pics from the zoo:

Here are some cute baby coots...the momma is in the shadows:

Callie in front of a giant rubber tree:

I have an interesting story about this guy, which I'll add later...

This reminded me of Randall's hilarious video about the honey badger:

I see these every day on my way to work. They're usually lounging in the sun on the beach of a neighborhood pond:

After the zoo, we went to the Cheesecake Factory and had a good lunch. When we got back home, we went swimming again, then binge watched "The Handmaid's Tale," which Callie recommended, and is REALLY good. And sorta scary relevant.

Here's Callie relaxing on the couch:

Monday, on the way to work, my right eye started to hurt. When I got to work, it was fiercely red and painful. I took out my contact, and since we didn't have morning patients, I made an eye appointment with the eye doctor across the street. So, I found out that the scar on my cornea from the last tear has made it so I can't really wear contacts anymore, and the humid heat at the jungle-like zoo followed by forgetting to take my contacts out before swimming caused another infected ulcer on my cornea, and this one more serious than the last time, because it will be another scar, and there was an aneurysm that ruptured too, making the area around my cornea swell. So, I'm trying to stay in the dark as much as possible, and wear two pairs of sunglasses when I drive. I go back to the doctor Friday to assess the damage and decide on a plan. He prescribed me some drops with three different antibiotics, and they seem to be working. My eye feels a lot better today.

Anyway, I'm not letting that stop me from the fun we're planning for the weekend. Or from work, which is busy for the rest of the week. Today will be a looonnnggg day, but Callie has her friend over from NSB, so they'll go to the beach or the movies.

Anyway, it's time to get ready for work. I'll add more pics to this blog post in a bit! Happy Wednesday!

Exhausted

So, Callie’s flight was delayed and didn’t arrive into Ft Lauderdale until almost 1:00 am, and then we had an almost two hour ride home, then I couldn’t wait for Callie to see the photo album I’d made for her, so we sat on her bed as she looked through it. She loves it, and it was a nice surprise for her. So, I got to bed at about 3:30, and slept til 5:30, but rested in bed until about 6:00.

Yesterday was a busy and bizarre day at work. We had one patient who brought in a service dog like I’ve never seen before.

Because it wasn’t a dog.

It was a mini pig piglet.

And we didn’t quite know what to do about it, but eventually let the patient keep it in a box, but not before it ran amuck around the lobby for a few minutes, delighting the other patients in the waiting room.

The staff was delighted too. When I went to call the patient back for an X-ray, I saw the pig in the box, and I ran back and said, “I’ve seen everything now. There’s a baby pig in the waiting room.”

The girls snapped to an instant giddiness. “A baby pig?!!!!” And they all practically trampled each other to the lobby to get a look.

It made for an interesting morning. Lol.

Today will be long and brutal, but just because I’m tired. We have a busy schedule, so I probably won’t be home until after 5:00. But tomorrow is a half day, so I’m looking forward to that!

I’ll try to post some pics later. :)

Have a great Thorsday!!

Two More Days!

Callie will be here in two days! I can't wait! This weekend, we did some sprucing up of the pool area, and I made the guest bedrooms all nice and cozy and clean. I steamed the wood floors so they shine.

We bought some cool solar lighted decorations for the pool area, and they should be here today. Our new couch for the movie room should arrive any day, too.

I told Callie she could invite a few friends to stay here for a few days so she won't be spending much time in New Smyrna Beach. How could her friends not want to stay in this beautiful place, with a pool, pool table, ping pong, darts, axe throwing (lol), and laser tag? :)

I'm making a SB of photos for each of the kids. As I was making Callie's this weekend, I found this picture of me and did a double take. Callie looks a lot like I did around her age! I texted it to James and his first thought was, "I thought Callie was 18?"

We also went swimming this weekend before the afternoon storms. I love the pool...it's very relaxing to go outside, turn on the music, and just glide through and under the water. James bought this cool two person raft and we tried it out, too. It has a cooler, cup holders, and a center console for chips or cell phones. Lol.

We also kept tabs on the story of the boy's soccer team stuck in the cave in Thailand. I just can't imagine what those parents must be going through. It would be very hard for me to sit on the sidelines and just wait. It would be hard for me not to go in there myself, but of course, I realize how foolish that would be. If a former Navy Seal died in there with scuba equipment, I wouldn't stand a chance. I hope they can use Elon Musk's pod so that the boys won't have to worry about becoming expert divers and swimmers overnight. I pray that they all make it out safe.

Anyway, time to get ready for a long day at work. Busy is good! Happy Monday!

No Wifi Zone

UPDATE:

Here are a couple pics I found--one of our old boats, and a pic my mom had taken in Captiva. I know there are more pics somewhere...

I got a text last night from Joe saying he was entering a "no wifi zone," and wouldn't be able to text or call for about a week. I can't wait to hear of the upcoming week's experiences!

I had a very cool dream last night. Maybe I'll make it into a book.

Other than that, not much is going on. I have an easy half day today, and the day off for the holiday tomorrow.

I have a good topic for an upcoming blog post, so stay tuned for that. Actually, I have a few good topics--I just have to write them...but the days are about to get busy once Callie arrives and we start doing summer outside-type things. I think we'll do a lot of boat-renting, kayaking, and hiking. Probably some metal-detecting on the beach, and we want to take Callie indoor skydiving if she's up for it, and do a few other things, too.

We're thinking about taking trips closer to home, since I took time off to go to CA and don't want to stress my co-workers in my first year. I have every other Friday off, so I can take long weekends to go to Sanibel and Captiva (the seashell capital of the world), and Key West.

When I was young, my parents would sometimes take us to Sanibel and Captiva for summer vacation. We'd haul the boat (with the trailer inevitably popping a tire or two along the bumpy route my dad chose to take), and stay in a cottage at the Tween Waters Inn for a couple weeks.

I loved walking along the beach picking up seashells and learning about each one with the seashell identification guide my dad bought me.

I remember one time when we were in the boat, and my dad decided to not heed the warning from one of the local fisherman to not attempt to navigate through a certain channel at a certain time of day, when the currents were very strong and could tip a small boat.

We'd had a good day fishing with the highlight of my older brother, John, catching a baby hammerhead. I have a pic of that somewhere, or maybe he does. I'll have to ask him for a scan.

Anyway, once my dad took the shark off the hook and released it back into the turquoise water. he decided to navigate the dangerous channel since we were very close to it, and it wasn't quite the time of day the fisherman had warned us about.

My mom was nervous (of course), but my dad was stubborn and if he thought he could do something, he would charge full steam ahead. Sorta like me. Lol.

As we entered the channel, the current wasn't too bad. A little rocky, but that was about it. I'm trying to remember exactly what happened, but I think my dad thought it wouldn't hurt to anchor for a little while and throw out a fishing line. That was a huge mistake, because the current soon pulled the boat against the anchor or something that made the boat start to tip or pull under water. My mom was running around franticly trying to get life vests on all us kids while simultaneously shrieking at my dad that it was his fault if we all drowned, and my dad was trying to pull up the anchor while simultaneously yelling at my mom to be quiet.

I vaguely remember squirming away from my frantic mom, telling her that I could easily swim to shore, which wasn't too far away, maybe 100 yards.

And then my dad had the anchor up and the boat righted itself and my dad booked it through the channel, having learned his lesson, I think, because he never attempted that again.

Oops, my trip down memory lane is making me run a little late. I'll try to update later with some family pics from our Sanibel vacations!

He Arrived!

We received the word Saturday that Joe arrived in New Zealand safe and sound, but tired. The director of the program sent the parents this encouraging pic of the kids having ice cream and looking generally happy:

I'd talked to Joe the night before because his debit card was declined at McDonalds, despite the travel notice we put in with the bank. So, I made a call to the bank, who said everything looked okay and said some vendors over there wouldn't have compatible chip technology, and those vendors would have to manually input the number. So, problem solved and Joe relaxed.

I got texts and pics yesterday from him, and I'm envious and vicariously enjoying his trip through him. His birthday was July 1st, and yesterday was July 2nd in New Zealand. His group bought a cake and ice cream to celebrate his birthday. Pretty cool! He said he was doing good, and that they went to One Tree Hill and a black beach yesterday. He said it was SO beautiful.

Here are the pics he sent:

I think I see a cave in this one:

So, it sounds like his trip so far is already amazing. I'm so glad he gets to experience the magic and wonder of a foreign country as beautiful as New Zealand!

This weekend, back at home, James and I worked on cleaning up the house and finishing some organizing in preparation for Callie's arrival on the 11th. We're also trying to plan a short trip somewhere, but haven't decided where yet, and I have to make sure I can get the time off work. 

As I was going through a small box, I discovered something that had been my dad's. My brothers had taken most of my dad's things when he died, and I didn't think I really had anything. But I found these two lures. Out of all the lures my dad had, these two somehow ended up in a box of mine. So, I'm going to treasure them.

We also made some time to throw some axes, swim, garden, and buy a new comfy sectional for the movie room. Here's the landscaping James is working on. He's almost finished. He put in the stone border, weed barrier and new mulch. Just a few little tweaks and it'll be done. It looks great!

Today I have a busy, full day at work. Tomorrow, I just have a half day, then the day off for the fourth. Thursday will be a full, busy day, and Friday, just a half day. So, a pretty light week ahead. That's okay with me, cause there's some stuff to be done around the house to make it more cozy and comfy for Callie. I can't wait til she gets here!

Happy Monday!