Florida

Pssst....come here...let me whisper a secret in your ear....I have never been to Florida. Yeah, that's right, I have been to Italy and France, the west coast including LA, San Francisco and Seattle, heck, I have even been to Malta ...what percentage of the US population has been to Malta, but I have never been to Florida or worse yet, I have never even been tempted to go to Florida. You want to know why???? Of course you do, you are my curious friends. Well, let me tell you why...back in the 4th grade ...this would be 1961..were you alive then??? Our teacher, Miss Hayes, read us a book about a family vacationing in Florida. They had many adventures, including getting stuck on a drawbridge ( we had certainly never seen a drawbridge in Vermont) which introduced us to the word "precarious", as in it was a " precarious situation". But what has stuck with me the most, after many decades...(how can I be this old???) was that they stayed in a ...gasp......pink cinder block motel. That, my friends, is my lasting image of Florida. Why would I spend hard earned money, despite the cold New England winters, to stay in a ...gasp.......pink cinder block motel??

Then I discovered blogging and the first blog that I somehow discovered was Kim at DearDaisyCottage and I was hooked. Her Florida bungalow is spectacular and all images of pink, or even mint green, cinder blocks have left my mind. And then today I am over the top thrilled with her post of her friend Yvonne's home, yep, it is in Florida. Please go and visit Kim's post for today ( August 25th) and check out Yvonne's 1920s bungalow. This is exactly what I want my house to look and more importantly feel like. Not a cinder block in sight;-)

Okay, now I am off to check out SouthWest Airlines to see about a ticket to Florida!! No, I am not actually planning a trip, but maybe I should at least consider a Florida trip, if only to to get the motel image out of my mind.


Later,
Janet

If you love suspense

Read this....

or this...either order, whatever makes you happy

but really, read them both. They are excellent ; Lisa Gardner's best work to date.

Later,
Janet

Quote du jour

Quote of the day


Where there is shouting, there is no true knowledge.
- Leonardo da Vinci

Seems fitting with all the hoopla surrounding political arenas these days.

Later,
Janet

Dog Days

The Dog Days of Summer are upon us, at least for now. First it was no summer, then rainy summer and now hot, muggy summer. Not much happening; good time to read in front of a fan.
This picture looks like our Granddogs, Marvin and Clyde.

Later,
Janet

Wildflowers

Make me happy,

You make me happy too :-)

TOOTSIE

Many of you know Tootsie for her blog about gardening www.tootsietime.blogspot.com, but did you know she has another blog....www.Jokesiget.blogspot.com ( Humor Has It)? Run over for a visit, depending on your age you may want to put on your Depends, lol.

Later,
Janet

Life Lessons

This seems to be making the rounds on the internet, but I believe it is worth repeating. There are many lessons here that some of us may have forgotten.

To celebrate growing older, a wise woman named Regina Brett wrote down 45 lessons life has taught her over the years. She just turned 90 years old and is a writer for The Plain Dealer (Cleveland), the largest newspaper in Ohio. Edited to add: Whoops, seems Ms Brett wrote this on her 50th Birthday 3 years ago. Check out her link www.reginabrett.com

Check it out:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone and everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45.Although life isn't wrapped up and tied with a bow, always remember it is a gift!

Un Chat Curieux en Villefranche

There was nothing down there. Believe me, I looked! I think this is the church cat as we later saw him or his brother in the window of the rectory.

Later,
Janet

PS. OK enough with showing off my immense French vocabulary