It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Forecast

Heavy downpours, frequent lightening strikes, stay out of low lying areas, don't stand outside with a metal rod in your hand, get the cats in the house BEFORE they get wet, they will not forgive you for hours if they get wet. IF they got wet, or even one of them did, the rest will ignore you and give you the cold shoulder, just because.

IF you feel like crumbling and giving in and begging for forgiveness, open a fresh can of cat food, the wet and smelly kind.
Cats have short memories when it comes to getting their feet wet ..

I went to the supermarket.
I got to admire a truly beautiful child and even got to take a photo for the mom, of her holding the baby with the moms very best friend in the world, who drove here (Florida) from Virginia to visit.
It was so sweet, they were taking photos of each other so I offered to take one of them all together.
I should have asked for a copy .. it was so sweet and loving .

Friends in Argentina are writing and telling me how things are  ... so far, nothing is bad enough to discourage me from making plans to visit.
As long as there will be someone living in my apt here with the cats, someone I trust in her cat wisdom and love .. I am going to Buenos Aires as soon as possible.

Wouldn't it be nice if I were to begin blogging again ... about Buenos Aires ... from Buenos Aires ?

All daydreams now .. I have a lease for a year. That forces me to be sensible.

Now for some photos .. rainy days and cats won't keep your interest for long !

In the park we went to every day ... in Buenos Aires
I love the street lamps. Many had birds nests in them.
The shady street .

Sunshine, warm weather, sunshine and good music, sunshine and nice people
is my forecast for Buenos Aires ... every day.














Monday, June 27, 2016

How Does Your Garden Grow ?

I read various blogs and see their gardens and flowers that they planted that are huge and wonderful and I think they must have some green thumbs !
Then I think about the gardens I had in NY.
Definitely the product of a line of green thumbs, I was just the caretaker for a couple of years.
Now I am living in a condo in Florida.
It is a Townhouse so I have a room at the back, that is all screened. with concrete floors.
Perfect for putting plants in. The cats hang out there during the day, they tell me plants would be a nice touch.. maybe even a bit of shade in the afternoon ... perhaps I would consider a plant of cat mint or something .

So today I am going to wander around a Garden Center and see what appeals to me, what might make a good patio garden addition. And will not poison a cat.

On my front step is a huge plant given to me by my daughter .. I don't know the name of it.
It has massive dark green leaves and a long stem comes out with a white lily looking flower. Very waxy.
I put it on the front step when I caught a cat nibbling on it.
So there is a chance that the plants in my house might either hang off ceilings or be made of plastic.
~ sigh ~

Any advice, any tips, suggestions, comments, flower ladies, flower guys, please do post it here.


Across  the street. Every house has one of these trees but I get the view of the best one !

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Houses Books and Friendship

On a dreary grey day with rain now and then and two sleeping cats and one very fussy young cat, I woke a bit blue and a bit sorry for myself.

Yesterday my daughter took me with her house looking.
I have "a thing" for the Arts and Crafts period , the design .. of everything.
And the homes built back in those days have this sturdy yet classic look to them. I have many things that were handed down to me by my great grandmother and grandparents, that come from those times. They are my Treasures.

So imagine my delight when we drove through this newly built neighborhood of homes that are all different styles, some very large and grand and some cottage-like.
I must have been an architect in a previous life ... I can do this all the time, look at homes , interiors, gardens, everything.

We went by some homes that have just been built, by someone my daughter knows.
And I fell in love.

A small Arts and Crafts bungalow .. enough rooms for me with room for company .. A fireplace that is lovely, with the tiles (surround)  being set in the correct style for the house ..
A sturdy square little house with modern bathrooms and kitchen but still very much Arts and Crafts.
I could imagine my treasures here and there in those rooms.

It was a great day, I hated to go home, sure the cats are thrilled to see me, the area is beautiful, the neighbors are quiet but while it is home to me... I don't really feel At Home.
I want that little house.

Today I have been looking at my things, handed down from my great grandmother, imagining them in the rooms of that little house. It would be as if Time stood still. Which can be a good thing sometimes.

It is starting to rain, it is a dreary day but I am keeping busy with cats   and magazines .. I need a new book .. when I remembered the mail. I forgot to check the mail !

There was a package !! No one mentioned a package ( not that I remember ) .. how exciting !
I scurried home, full of anticipation, curiosity , who sent me something ? what can it be ?
Then I put on my glasses and looked at the return address.
France.
Hmmmmmm.
The card is a photo of 2 sleeping cats ... (this person knows me well) and inside is a sweet note , what a lovely lovely surprise .. a girl that I know from the internet ( my blog) sent me a book . . a Mystery ... just what I love .

I send lots of Love to you A ... I send great big Thank You hugs and someday maybe we will get to sit down and have coffee/tea and chat in person.. about our love of books, mysteries and how friendships can start from the smallest seed and grow.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Memories

It makes going to buy the newspaper much nicer when it is bought in a space like this.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Viral

No, sadly, my blog has not gone viral. The world is not knocking down the doors to meet such an amazing blogger.
The cats might try to knock down the door when I don't feed them on time .. to the second .. but no one cares about my blogging.

Oh .. wait a minute, someone does care.
The lovely person who stayed on the phone with me for what seemed like hours and it really was only ... hours.
The man who walked me through the long process of getting the virus out.

My Mac started shouting at me earlier today ... VIRUS !!! VIRUS !!! then fainted.

Using the cell phone, I was able to contact the online Apple people who fix things like this ..

Apple Support is a Wonderful Thing.

And TECHVAULT INC is wonderful too.
He sat on the phone with me for a very very long time. He worked and fixed and worked and comforted and encouraged and fixed my computer.

It is no longer suffering from a virus. It is well again.
I will suffer from fear of it happening again, fear of being cut off from the world and everyone I know in it , by a virus.

I might not need it or want it someday and that is OK too.
I took it for X amount of months but I am not locked in to a  contract ..

So watch out for Malware ... it can really screw up your day/computer/time in so many ways.



Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Ordinary

On an ordinary day, we would walk past or into buildings like this every day in Buenos Aires.
 We had friends who lived in one, we enjoyed visiting them .. going up the cage elevator that was only slightly less wobbly than the one in our building ... or walking up the fabulous white marble staircase that went up and around ..

It was very easy at times to imagine we were in Paris .. with Art Nouveau touches everywhere, statues and gardens .. Those hints that all those people who were part of the founding of the city, were there .
The huge statue in the park, O'Higgins on his horse, fighting and winning battles for Independence.

The parks were very French with the plantings and trees in long orderly rows.
The statues Everywhere ! famous men, famous horses, fountains .. lovely.

When I look at the photos, in my memories I can hear the traffic noise , the people all around, the dogs in the parks having such fun .. sitting on a bench and people watching, going down the street to a fabulous Art Museum .. or a few blocks farther away to a fabulous Home that is now a Museum but was a Home at one time ... the art, the furniture are still there, waiting, as if the family will return soon..

I even miss that crazy ride by taxi to Chinatown on Sundays where we would have lunch and shop for spices in the markets.

Ordinary every day things like going to a market with my husband, taking a walk in the park with our dog, buying coffee at the shop that made it just the way we liked it ... going to a pharmacy  !  all ordinary every day occurrences but made out of the ordinary because of where we were ..

I miss that ordinary place, those ordinary things we did .. that ordinary life ..



Monday, June 20, 2016

On My Mind

Nothing much happening but a lot of soul searching and thinking going on ..
"Old friends" ... funny how life changes, you move, you do different things, you lose track of people or it seems that everyone sort of moves on with new friends and at times it is like being left behind.

I have depended on "friends" for a couple of years now, more than ever before.
My husband was my Best Friend ... I / We never needed other people .. there were friends but we were just as content with only each other all the time.

We made friends in Argentina over the years. Ex-pats, locals, cousins ... ( long story for another time) ... and then we moved back to New York.
The move was my husbands idea ... call it Missing Family or Premonition ... I was reluctant but convinced with a new grand baby on the way and promises of charming houses in the woods.

The House was not so charming but definitely in the woods/country.
The family was not that close so the visits were few and far between.
The baby arrived and won our hearts instantly and we were thrilled although it became a matter of some sadness that we did not see him often.

And then, just months ..7 months after arriving back in the United States, my husband died. Suddenly, with no warning, not sick, thanks to an incompetent doctor.
Suddenly, with no warning, I was a Widow.
Suddenly, I had to know how to pay bills, run a house ( in a place where they get feet of snow ... feet !!!) and a house that looked good but unfortunately for us, the realtor failed to point out the things we would not have known to look for ...

Those first months were spent shopping and moving and decorating and painting ... planning.
Oh the plans we made. How nice that house would have looked .. how much more fun it all would have been. But it all came to a screeching halt, 7 months after returning to the United States from Argentina.

I knew no one. I always got lost . I was terrified all the time. The noises at night, the unrelenting snow the first winter ... things broke constantly ... a fortune spent replacing major machines .. you know, machines like a Furnace !! and laundry .. at least the floor got cleaned nicely when the washer broke.

After the numbness of grief wore off and the pain and anger set in, I know I lost friends online .. I was harsh in tone, hard in attitude, angry ... sad ... frightened all the time.
Some friends are here today , still with me, they stuck by me through it all and were True.
Others stayed for some unknown reason only to be hateful and nasty recently, when they thought maybe it was OK to be an a**hole now that I am out of my "mourning" period ?
Who knows but it sure showed me that my judge of character and my misplaced trust in strangers on the internet has to be dealt with.
An unpleasant lesson learned from some unpleasant people. There is consolation though-
what goes around, comes around. Remember that.

I am in Florida now.
No snow. No machines or furnaces breaking down, no snow. A daughter who is kind and helpful and motherly to her mother and that beautiful Grandson who looks like a Viking , towering over me. And no snow !

My true friends have stood by me, my old friends in Argentina are still there and I even heard from one today, a sweet note from a voice from the past  ... a reminder of how happy we were there in that place ..

So here I am. In a posh condo :) in Florida. Like any self respecting NYer .
And I long to be back in Argentina.
So plans are forming.

Meanwhile, have I mentioned how much I love the malls here ?
It is like going to a town ! Streetlights on wide sidewalks, beautiful shops with huge windows to walk by and window shop , anything in the world you might long for , they have it ... even if you never knew it existed, they have it.
I was reluctant to go on a spree as I have just arrived, there are so many good places to spend money :)

I did buy some Trapp Candles from a favorite shop in a favorite neighborhood.. lunch with daughter, and home to lonesome cats who were very dramatic in their efforts to convince me of how hungry they were, how afraid they were that I was not coming home, how sad they were, how important it was that they ALL sleep on my bed.
Even if they bickered for an hour ... on my bed .... late at night ...

My life changed in every single way .. the important people are still here, minus one, the other half of me. But I carry him with me wherever I go ... right there ... next to my heart.
I am looking at air fares to Argentina. I am mulling over apt vs hotel. I am looking Forward.

No matter what happens in Life ... you have to look Forward. It is hard and at times mind boggling in its painfulness but you have to keep moving Forward. So on I go.

I will blog when I have anything that might be of interest but lately, pipes breaking and armadillos in the back garden are the extent of my days ... but the seed has been planted for the plan to return , even if just for a visit, to Buenos Aires. I hope you all stay, I will try to do something interesting to write about and I will keep you abreast of the plans to return to Argentina.

besitos and abrazos

Thursday, June 16, 2016

A Good Book

Speaking of Summer afternoons ..
I love to grab a cold soda from the fridge and maybe some salty chips or crackers and loll on the sofa and read a good book.

My mom started taking me to the Library when I was very young, those days I would end up coloring color books at the table for small people while Mom found books that she liked.

Years later, we both were in the Library together, looking for a book we liked, sometimes, often, I was reading books that my mom had read , all those years before.
We are a family of book readers .. my mom and her sisters, myself and my daughter, my son reads but he is also a writer, not of books, but everything else.
And now he has a small son who is getting a book for his Birthday.. and so we will keep the tradition going .

I just went through Amazon, after doing my baby boy birthday shopping and found a few Freebies on Kindle that I grabbed.
It is hot in here, even with the a/c . . the sun is shining on this room, on this chair, on this person.

So I will take my Kindle, a cold soda and go down to the living room where I will loll on a big sofa with the a/c blasting and I will read a summer book.

Teach your children to love reading.
It is one of the best gifts you can give.

What are you reading now ?

Emotions

Grief, Loss, Anticipation, Anxiety, Nervous, Relaxing, Worry, Thankful, Sad, Happy, Angry...

I lost my husband, he was not sick, a doctor was responsible.
That takes a lot of Time to get over ... to accept and "move on" ..

Everything I knew since I was 21 years old was related in some way to my husband. We were never apart, we were always in love.

Anticipating moving here was nerve-wracking but at least it was Positive.  I worried quite a lot about being able to do it alone. With cats.
I did it, it was easy and while I am proud to have done it, it was only a bit lonely, not hard.

I am always anxious. Since my husband died, I have anxiety over most things, some are really lame.
I am working hard on it. . I am doing better.

I do get nervous over some things and I believe it is reasonable. Like when water starts gushing out of the washing machine when it wasn't even turned on ... like watching the white wall to wall carpet turn into a swamp ... like watching water dripping out of the light fixtures in the den and kitchen downstairs ..

Relaxing ... when the men came to fix the water and told me to Relax, they would fix Everything.
I smiled, I so so appreciated their manner and words but me ? relax ? with gallons of water soaking the ground floor of a condo ? give me a little time on that, would you ?

Yesterday it was announced that the carpets are dry. Everything is fine. Today they will pick up the fans.
I may never do laundry again.

The cats are annoyed. There are wires and hoses everywhere and I am always shooing them away from this and that. Today they are coming to take it all away .. yay ... the cats and I can get down to relaxing again... without machinery...

I know I will worry about it happening again, this happened out of nowhere . But the laundry was the culprit so I will either get new machines or have a laundry service or something.
( go to a stream with a rock and wash my things the old fashioned way)

I lost so much weight, nothing fits ... there is a ray of sunshine in this ... while I have plenty of clothes that I like, I really need to go shopping.  Oh ... what a shame ... pity me ... I wonder if my feet lost weight ? perhaps better fitting shoes too ? oh oh and a handbag ... something Floridian !

I am thankful to my daughter every day for her help. Her advice and her caring and her Being Here for me every day.
And don't forget that son of hers ... that beautiful smiling Viking boy  ... I hit the jackpot with grandsons !

I will live here until my years lease is up and in that time I expect to go house hunting with my girl and see if there is something less grand, large and more cozy that the cats and I can call home.
I like the idea of being just a tiny bit closer to the beaches .. unless that would just make me worry every year when storms start to brew out in the ocean.

I am happy to be here. I am Thankful for everyone who was and is so kind and helpful and I can easily forget those who were deceitful and hateful. They will have a bad thing happen too ... and they probably will not have the good people around them that I had around me.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Summer Afternoons

After huddling with the cats upstairs and opening all the doors and windows today with the blast furnace heat allowed to come in and help things dry, I was anticipating good news from the wet wall worker..

He did the usual things with gauges and writing numbers down etc ... I can't figure out if that is real, or is it for anyones benefit that he knows what he is doing ?

So he said it is still wet, it will need more time.
I didn't cry.

I called the landlord and told him the news ( in my sad voice ) and gave the phone to the worker ..
He explained numbers from the gauges and this and that and then he got off the phone and said he was leaving the fans on it and keep all windows closed and tomorrow he would remove everything and they would be out of there ... yay !!!

So there are massive fans in every room, it sounds like I am living in a large factory or something.. airplane hangar?

It is ridiculously humid and hot out, the cats cannot stay awake and I am bored.

But there is nothing I actually want to do so I will now go find a cool/air conditioned corner on the sofa , the corner that does not have a cat in it at the moment and read a murder mystery.
I might even eat something bad for me.

When I was a kid, my mom would take me to the library during Summer vacation and she and I would get books ... then she would stop at the grocery store and we would go home and have lunch and read our books in the heat of those Southern Summer afternoons.

That is what I am going to do.
If Mom was here, she would be here doing it with me.
Miss you Mom...

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

My Day

I woke to that sound that some of us have been unlucky enough to have heard before ... in a quiet house, not that far away , the drip drip of water ... not the faucet ... where ?

In my case, first I stepped barefooted onto soaking wet carpet .. yes, white wall to wall carpet .. outside my bedroom door. My bedroom floor is carpeted, it is fine.

I walked / squished down the hall and there it began to be deeper .. scarier ... my washing machine was overflowing ... but .. no one did any laundry .. the pipe went kablooey .. I ran downstairs and there was the water, pouring out of the ceiling, soaking the corner of the rug .. wetting a leather chair, spreading fast.

Surprise # 1 - My head did not explode.

Surprise # 2 - when I called my daughter, who else to call when you know No One !! she called the owner, he called me, he was on the way... "don't worry"...

Only a stranger would tell me Not to Worry .... I excel at worrying. I am one of the worlds best worriers, I know my strengths and worrying is one of them.
So I ran around moving everything that was possible to move, trying to save things, hoping to not lose something that has a great deal of meaning to me. ( I attach meaning to things that are related to events, places and people that are no longer here or I am no longer there )

The owner of the condo arrived, with his tool kit and first thing he did was shut off the water.
Got out the buckets, I threw every bath towel I had on puddles, lakes and wept at the sight of the soaked carpets.
The *Miracle* ....my rug,  the  special rug that my husband and I bought in 1974 was not wet.

The furniture was pushed out of the way and saved , the worst to get it was the wall to wall carpet, in the bedrooms , halls and down the staircase.

I went out of the house with the cats, to the sunroom which was warm and sunny ... and tried to help in any way I could but he told me to go upstairs to my room :)
I took the cats and sat in my bedroom with the a/c and a little radio and sat and worried.
I do it so well.

Time  went by, people came in  a van.
Strapping strong men and a woman.
I was to take the cats, go to my room and relax and let them do their job. They promised me Everything would be Fine.

Hours later, hours ... maybe 4-5 hours ... they told me they were leaving. Would I like to come downstairs .. I was reluctant .. what was I going to see ?

There was not even a drop of water, no spot of damp, no sign that water had ever been in that house.
Not counting the very wet corner of the rug that a young man with a machine was still working on.
My dining room table, the chairs were all safe .. Cry or just Thank them ... decisions decisions.

I thanked them so much .. I might have cried for a second or two in relief.

The cats are impressed. They say everything even smells the same and Merlin is so happy to be back on his sofa. Minette said she was just glad that the stairs were dry, nothing worse to a small cat foot than a squishy wet carpeted stair.

I don't even remember what dinner was , ramen noodles or something .. I went to bed with massive fans blowing hot air all upstairs, my room was / is a cool oasis with a/c and windows and a radio, not to mention a tiny pack of napping cats.

So that was my day yesterday , how was yours ?


Saturday, June 11, 2016

Snake in the Grass

I was up early with the cats today.
Because they woke me up and the light was coming in too brightly ... and because I think the plumber is coming back today to finish up the big mess he made out of my laundry room. I would like to wash some clothes. If that isn't too much trouble ..

So far it is 1:00 pm and no one has shown up to do anything.

I sat outside on the lanai with the cats and enjoyed my coffee and the warmth of the morning and the sight of all the colors .  Green forest behind me, green grass in front of me and blue skies with huge puffy white clouds skidding by. And then .. there was that green thing moving in the grass, headed towards my lanai... with the cats .. with me ! standing and watching... none of us moving, just staring at a very long pretty green snake.


It slithered around the a/c machinery then slithered right back to the woods.
Maybe the fact that I kicked the metal ( thank you god) base of the lanai screened walls .. maybe the fact that there were a few little big eyed kitties staring through the screens .. maybe the snake just said.. to hell with this, it's Saturday, not worth the bother.

I don't mind seeing snakes up close, like that. I would be bothered if I knew it was something dangerous/poisonous ... I would be bothered if it was a tarantula or just a big spider ... if it was a wolf or mad dog or mad man !
But a snake slithering through the grass, minding its own business, wasn't so horrifying.

Where is the plumber?
When can I do the laundry ?

I might just have to go to the mall and buy new clean clothes ... it won't be my fault.
I will be forced to go shopping.
Forced ... remember that ...


.........................
The harmless green snake that only eats bugs and mice, went back into the woods.
The cats kept watch, no snakes out there at this time.
The nice man that owns this condo came and fixed various electrical things around the place so now I can do laundry.
I am not often this happy about doing the laundry.
The cats overdosed on fresh air and warmth so they are now napping in cool spots in the house ..
I can now go shopping or to the garden center or just take a book out to the lanai and read and not have a care in the world ... if just for a few hours .. I have been told I have to start thinking that way again. I worry too much when there is nothing to worry about .. which makes me worry.

But I don't have to worry about doing the laundry now.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Forward


With all the hustle and bustle of packing and closing up Things and movers and moving and driving from New York to Florida by myself with the cats, I didn't have time to sit and just reflect on what I was leaving behind, what I was taking with me and what I was heading towards.

Not actual Things ... physical things .. but the Memories, the sights and sounds that brought to mind happy times, love and closeness and togetherness.

Now here I am .. with 3 cats.

I drove down at my own pace, staying in hotels with my 2 cats, taking my time, not getting panicked or crazed about Time  ... everyone would be there when I got there ..

Upon my arrival I got the news that my Mom had had a massive heart attack.
I went to the hospital and was glad that she knew me ... hoped for a miracle.
That miracle did not happen ... my mom died ...  all those plans , those hopes and dreams .

My sweet daughter helped me find ... actually she found,  my home. A fabulous condo in a safe gated community with plenty of room for my furniture and now 3 cats.. my moms sweet sweet cat .. who is still a bit confused.

We sleep together .. good thing I have a large bed , I have no more room for more cats. It is funny how a little cat can take up a human sized section of a bed.

They all love the lanai, there are boxes and crates and pillows and chairs and water for anyone who feels like relaxing out in the fresh air ... they all do ... every day .
Moms cat (Honey) waits for those doors to open , she moseys out to check on things, she likes her little spot on a cushion ..
Minette has to check every inch of the place, before hopping into her chair and relaxing.
Merlin slowly goes out, squints around at things, finds his cushion and takes his first of many naps of the day... sweet sweet boy. . he tolerates my fits of kisses so well. Purring away.
Minette  will purr and snuggle but then she wants to be on her own .. independent little puss.
Honey is just so glad to be fed and have some peace and quiet and a little company, she purrs all the time.

They are the best thing for a sad persons spirits ...


I have been having fun with decorating and today will be fresh flowers and plants day.
I have to be able to put out anything that is Not toxic to cats and that they will not ruin by chewing off the leaves.
I might end up having this glorious garden of plastic plants and trees on the lanai :)
I have a years lease here so I can take my time adjusting,  then do some house hunting with my daughter.
Small, these days for me, is a Good Thing.
Safe and Cozy and Quiet .. and cat friendly !
So on we go, my little tribe and I ... onward ! forward !

Honey takes a nap







Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The Ball


                          The ball is waiting for her to wake up and play with him.

When You Run Out Of Fruit and other household tips

                   
                      You can also use it as a Door stop and or a Paper Weight.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Buy Me a Ticket For An Airplane

Maybe not a one way ticket ... maybe not a cutting of ties ... maybe not a garage sale but I do think it is time for me to start preparing for a return to my Other Home.
The one I remember and love best.

This does not mean I am unhappy here, I really like it here. I love this townhouse and the cats are safe and happy but I need to go back to where I was so happy. I need to see how it is on my own and I need to say goodbye .. or not. We will see.

We have been under a storm watch. Tornado watch. That does nothing good for my spirits.
I dragged all the furniture in from the lanai/  patio, which is a very large screened in room with sliding glass doors to the house  ... I worried that if a big wind came along, something might break a
glass door.

I worried about getting the cats rounded up and into a crate , into a car, out of the garage, to go where ?

A hurricane warning is one thing, tornadoes scramble my brain.
And there is no basement here.

They don't have tornadoes in Buenos Aires ... or hurricanes and no blizzards or even snow storms.
The dusting of snow they did get last, was the first in about 30- 40 years and no one was snowed in or lost in the drifts.

I need to live somewhere that I am not afraid of the weather.

In a yellow building maybe ... or near one ... or ..

Sunday naps


A cloudy windy day , nowhere to go, nothing that has to be done, dinner a phone call away ...
A nap is good any day but a Sunday nap is The Best.







Good Riddance

Ever just wake up sad ?
I did. No particular reason.
Cats slept peacefully and left the room quietly .. only one spat to settle .. quietly.
I was perhaps a bit too air conditioned, it felt good to step out into the lanai with a cup of hot coffee in my nightgown ( I love being able to do that ) and watch the cats, listen to the birds and sounds from the woods and just to be here.
But I woke up sad.

No matter how nice the place, the people, the days , there is always something / someone missing.
That person that you comment to .. that you can ask any question and pretty much know they have the answer ... that person who gives great advice .. that person who will tell you he always knew that person was false and to be avoided.

As old as I am ... I am still fooled by people pretending to be something they are not.
Pretending to be something I thought they were ... pretending not to be as smug, toxic and hate filled as they are.

I refuse to be a hermit . But every time I learn a lesson from toxic people, I think that hermits might have the right idea.
But then I remember those friends I have had for years and years .. who are always there for me .. who never say hurtful things, who might have doubts or worries about my decisions but they are supportive and loving.

Why anyone would waste their own time, not to mention everyone else's .. by pretending to be a friend then finally showing their true colors, is beyond me.
They are, happily, not my kind of person. Not something I would do.
Not something a real friend of mine would do.

As my husband said ... Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish.


Saturday, June 4, 2016

On a hot sunny humid Saturday

What else is there to do but go shopping ?
But where ? That makes all the difference in the world. There are fabulous huge malls all around.
(Waiting for me)
There are nice little neighborhoods with boutiques and shops and markets, not to mention Farmers Markets and Sunday Flea Markets.

So today, my daughter and I , and her friend , the ever up for mischief ... we will just call her H ...
hopped into the car and headed off to the Naval Air Base where the shopping is good. We had a person with a pass that meant that she could bring guests with her to shop .

It was like an industrial warehouse with aisles and everything you can imagine ... sort of a raw Bloomingdales with no sales girls, but nice purses, perfume and make up counters and clothes for every occasion in every size and color.
And of course, shoes.

I enjoyed it all.
I did not buy anything.
Weird, huh?

We came home and I was famished so the cats and I had an early dinner and I paid a couple of bills.
Which is not as fun as it could have been .. I couldn't find the check book .. I don't know why, it was where it always is ... the cats are playing tricks on me.
I was hungry but there is nothing in the house to eat so I had an odd mix of this and that because there is no way I am getting dressed, driving to a store and buying anything tonight.
I am done.
So the cats and I are in for the night, we are going to sit out in the lanai and listen to the sounds from the woods, feel the evening breezes and daydream about the future.

It was a lovely day .... oh did I mention stopping at Pet Smart so my daughter could buy cat food and there were these 2 sweet sweet sweet cats for adoption ?


I love driving by the horse farms nearby.
I love seeing Navy jets go over .. I love seeing raccoons rob the bird feeders ... I love not dreading snow ... I love hearing from my friends in Buenos Aires, in Florida on the West Coast and I love not hearing from people who were only a negative in my life.  .

What goes around comes around is a great saying ...

Friday, June 3, 2016

I (Don't) Miss New York

Oh .... My .... Aching ....Back !
I think I am strong ( I am actually) and I think I don't need help with lifting and moving heavy objects but apparently I did and I should have and now I am paying for it with very sore back muscles.
Or it is because I keep picking up Honey and carrying her around, kissing and loving her so she is at home and comfy with us.
Or it is because I keep moving furniture ... who knows .. the good news is, one of my sofas is super long and the cats and I can all lie on it and watch television without straining our backs.

As can be expected from living in Florida, the weather is delightful.
Nights are cool, clear and comfortable. I wake up cold in the early hours of the morning, looking for the blanket. . with cats huddled next to me for warmth ... no wonder I was dreaming I was tied down in a warm place !

Honey is just that ... a honey, a sweet , calm, loving cat ... she is just a little girl in a very large cat suit.
She has contributed to  the backache .. she is very heavy.

I pick up Minette after Honey and it is like picking up a feather ! She is still very irritated with me for bringing Honey home.

Merlin may have realized there is a new cat in the house. So far it seems that he could care less.
He just wants to be sure I am there when he needs food, snuggles, food or a spot next to me on the bed.
He loves to eat and he weighs nothing. typical guy ... girls eat a lettuce leaf and gain weight, guys eat everything in sight and stay slim.

The condo is looking good. Thankfully the rooms all had curtain rods and or shades so I only hung my pretty drapes up and in this room just a Toile valance and it looks like Home.
Everyone has their room, everyone has their own bed ... which means nothing really, everyone sleeps in my bed ...
After breakfast is nap time, Minette and Merlin are out in the sunroom, on top of boxes, sleeping in the warm sun.
Honey is in here, beside me, on "her box" ... an old wooden toy box .. she is now taking her bath and will nap. A cats life is not bad if you are in the right home.

I will be very easy on myself today , my back muscles are very unhappy.
I will perhaps sit outside in the sunroom and read .. or go to a nursery and look at plants.
Or the market and buy more cinnamon rolls.
Why can I not live on cinnamon rolls ? no one has given me a good enough answer.

Looking out the window, here in this room, my view is a pine tree forest.
And sitting in the top of one of those trees is a large Hawk.
And there is a mall a couple of miles away.
I like this location.


Funny, I don't miss New York yet.

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sunset in Buenos Aires

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