My Swirling Vortex of Entropy

A Little Rain

It rained yesterday morning. Clear skies and 85 degrees today.

Hmmmm, what should I do today?

Sit here?

Rent one of these?

Find out where this guy is going?

Oh - there he is ... and his friends too!

Maybe have lunch here?

Such a dillemma!

A Few More

The Man is at his conference this morning. I have a couple hours to go exploring. Here are some photos from yesterday.

Still lovin' it.

From the balcony:

This was the view from our room last night as the sun set.

Consider this notice:

We arrived at the Naples Grande Beach Resort a few hours ago. I am IN LOVE with it already. I may send for my children and pets and never return to MinneSNOWta.

Yes, there was snow on the ground this morning as we drove to the airport.

Death by Dust and Dog Hair

My mother in law is arriving at noon today. I am trying SO hard to eliminate the dirt, dust and dog hair from my home. She isn’t allergic, and she isn’t the type to love me less if she ends up going home with furry clothes. However, I still care. I want her to think I’m taking good care of her son and grandkids. (The only one’s she’s got.) Somewhere in my twisted anxiety prone brain there is a soundtrack that sounds like this:

“It’s not clean enough … You forgot to … What about … You’re not the best … etc”

The good news --- my MIL is arriving today so that The Man and I can go to Florida for a week! Yay!

So today I will be attempting to vanquish the dust demons and dog hair monsters that reside in my VERY lived in home. Two dogs, two cats, two kids and lots of their friends are a lot for one woman to keep up with. Especially one woman who tends to read a book (or blog) when housework overwhelms her.

*Deep sigh* – gotta go - I’ve got a date with a mop.

The Time Sam Scared Me Silly

I’ve mentioned before that I worked as a student athletic trainer while I was in college. In August of 1982 my senior year was about to begin. Two a day football practices were in full swing. One evening as I was getting dressed after showering off the sweat and grime that was the result of standing on the practice field sidelines all day I heard my town house door open. The doors of these on campus “town home” style dorm rooms were notoriously easy to jimmy. I could feel a breeze, so I knew the door had been opened. I heard footsteps. My heart rate shot up and I could feel my hair was starting to standing up on end. Looking around, I grabbed the most lethal thing I could find, a can of diet orange soda. Slowly walking toward the noise, shaking the can in my hands, I get ready to fizz the intruder to death. I turn the corner and walk into the living room. Just as I think that I’ve been a victim of an overactive imagination someone grabs me from behind. I screamed, kicked and flailed around until I was finally freed. I turned, aiming my can of diet pop at the intruder. It was Sam. One of the football players. "Sam!" I hollered "how did you get in here, why are you here, you scared me to death, I hate you, I'm so glad its only you..." Poor Sam looked a bit surprised to have frightened me so. I wasn’t sure if I trusted him or not. He was huge, and had a sneaky reputation that I was a little leery of, but at least it was only Sam.
"I came here to ask you for a back rub" he said with a sly grin on his face.
Disgusting! Thinking fast I said " Here, how about a can of pop first."
"Thanks” he said.
Well, I didn't end up giving him a back rub. He went home to wash diet orange pop off his face and out of his hair.

Worth Fighting For?

The Recliner has informed us that he refuses to participate in his high school commencement exercise. He doesn’t want to sit through a boring ceremony. He’s NOT gonna wear that DRESS THING!

I have mixed emotions about this. I don’t really want to sit through a boring ceremony either. But – It’s what you do, right? His grandparents and great grandparent are a little disappointed. So in deference to the feelings of others who love this boy I am considering demanding that he participate in the big event. And yet when I consider the source I am not surprised. This is the child of a man who refused to walk the stage when he graduated from medical school with highest honors. The Man said – “Walking the stage does not make me a doctor. I’ve earned the title without the ceremony.”

The precedent has been set. Graduation ceremonies are optional.

Okay – I’ll live.

Any thoughts? Is his participation worth insisting upon?

Traveling Tuesday - Another Photograph

Sunrise on the ferry from Athens to Mykonos.

IF I believed in past lives ... I was Greek once. That photo makes me almost homesick.

Books

Jen at Juggling Life was tagged with this list of questions. She didn't tag me - but I'm gonna play along anyway. (Geez, just like grade school recess - left standing on the sidelines wishing I was cool enough to be picked for one of the teams. Oh STOP IT ... I'm just kidding!)

So here's the list of questions.

1. List three books you’ve always meant to read, but haven’t gotten around to reading.

These two because they are classics. For some reason I've got it in my head that SMART people read classics. So I want to add these books to the list of classics that I've devoured.

This one because it seems that all the cool people I know have read this book. I'm always looking to fit in with the cool kids. Good luck with that, eh?

2. Share the two books that changed your life.

My mother gave me a copy of this book when I was in grade school. I absolutely INHALED it. It changed my life. For the first time, I realized that I COULD read a long book, even a very long book. 1000 plus pages was no longer a daunting deterrent. As Scarlett was standing in the hallway of her home, planning her "Rhettless" future I realized that sometimes 1037 pages is not nearly enough.

This series of books changed my life. Maybe more accurately they changed my son's life. I began reading these books to The Recliner when he was in third grade. VERY soon he was reading them for himself. We spent hours, and hours, and HOURS curled up together taking turns reading out loud to each other. I would describe the Redwall books as King Arthur tales with animals as the main characters. I give Brian Jacques equal credit for installing a passion for reading in my son. The Recliner is off to college next fall - seriously considering a degree in literature, or software programing. He never did fit into anyone's box. That's my boy!

Oh, and Banshee Girl - it's NOTHING for her to finish 10 books in a long weekend. I guess I did something right.

3. Recommend the one book you’ve been talking about since the very first day you’ve read it.

ONE?!? Just ONE?!? Can't do it. So here's three.

Haunting - beautiful.

Such an uplifting tale. Trudge through hell and sometimes happiness awaits you on the other side.

ALMOST an instruction manual for raising teenagers. SO very valuable. I'd recommend it to ANYONE who has procreated.

Now, time to go. If you're looking for me I'll be on the couch - reading.