Confessions of a Grandma

When my daughter was a teenager she and a friend would get up to some very strange antics.  They called them "boredom games." I have been enjoying some Florida weather and lots of outdoor activities, but then yesterday was rainy.  Not just a passing shower, a steady all afternoon into the night rain. My first thought was to be happy that I did not have to drag out the hose to water newly installed plants.  My second thought was what will I do with myself stuck inside on a rainy afternoon? I got out some card making supplies and spent the afternoon coloring, cutting and pasting. I will donate these sets to St. Francis Consignment Shop which donates all funds from their sales to cat rescues and clinics. It's good to have hobbies.

In my travels around the Venice, Florida area I have seen a couple of strange and curious things. A Cadillac pickup truck. I am sure it's expensive.  I am sure it is posh to sit inside it.  But why? Why does it even exist? Aren't pickups working vehicles?  How practical does this look?  What kind of person ever feels the need for something like this?   (If you have one enlighten me, but I think it is just plain wrong.) And this: An SUV by Jaguar!! Again, certainly very expensive and very posh, but it kind of looks like every other SUV on the road.  If I ever get to own a Jaguar, I for sure want it to be a whole lot sexier looking than this.  If I ever even ever in my life get to just sit in one, I would want it to look a whole lot sexier than this. (If you have one enlighten me, but I think it is just plain wrong.)

I am going to a Halloween party. I am going to wear a white shirt and white pants and go as a snow flake. So I was at Michael's yesterday and I bought glittery plastic snow flakes to decorate the outfit and make it clearer as to what I am meant to represent. It did make me wonder why the US price is 3.99 and the Can price is 5.99.  They were made in China.  Is it some kind of indication of the gross unfairness of NAFTA? Anyway . . .  It was incredibly easy to find snowflakes as all the Christmas decoration are on full display.

They say that the unofficial start of Fall in Florida is the day that the daytime temperature drops below 80 degrees.  There are Halloween decorations here and there.  There are piles of pumpkins at the markets.  But it is not Fall, in spite of the Autumnal Equinox and the recent harvest moon. There has been a great deal of beach erosion since I have been coming to this area.  These kids were enjoying their own little pool though. I don't suppose brown palm leaves count as call color. Things are pretty green and tropical looking in town. Last evening the occupants of the five houses on my immediate corner got together for beer, wine, and snacks.  We sat outside, talking and laughing (trying not to be too rowdy) until eleven p.m. The temperature did not fall below 80 but there was a most pleasant breeze stirring and we were all happy to have spent another day in our little bit of paradise.

Well, at least these are not tick bites although I never did see what it was that had a feast on my leg. There are four welts on my leg and two on my big toe.  The whitish areas are just reflection.  I have to conclude that I need to slather on sunscreen and then spray myself with insect repellent before any move to go outside.  I bought some Skeeter Screen at the health food store.

I left my new car behind and flew to Florida.  I was wanting to see for myself what damage vixen Hurricane Irma brought to Venice.  There are still piles of fallen trees and other brush along many streets just waiting for pickup from the county.  There a number of fences down and some of the street signs were crumpled and bent. People who were here say it was scary but it could have been so much worse. My place has a little bit of water damage -- a spot on the ceiling and the front door frame.  I have a can of Killz Premium ready to apply.  The screen door is a little askew, but I am not having much luck getting anyone to attend to that.  Eventually I will probably just have it replaced. Area handymen are out straight. Outside, my bougainvillea was sheared off but it is already sending out new shoots.  It's a survivor (aka weed).  The frangipani I thought was uprooted was really not uprooted.  It just was bent over and is blooming ...

My friend Donna had a family wedding shower to attend in Rochester, NY.  Her nephew is getting married in November.  She didn't want to drive that distance by herself and no one in her immediate family could take the trip with her.  I have relatives in Rochester.  I said I would go with her.  I said I would even drive my new car. It wasn't a long trip, but I am happy that we did it together.  We left on Friday morning and arrived at my cousin's house at dinner time.  We took him out to dinner and then sat and talked until bed time.  He graciously put us both up for the night.  On Saturday, we took Donna to the hotel where the shower was to be held and he and I went to visit his mom and his sister. My aunt is the last one of my parents' generation left.  She is starting to show signs of memory loss, but she knew me right away -- OlgaPolga! I am so happy to see you!" I wrote about my bittersweet visits here . Afterwards I went to l...

I did it.  I looked at a number of different cars but I wanted the Ford C-Max Energi. I ended up getting a 2017 "used" one.  It was the dealer courtesy vehicle with 2000 miles on it.  Dealers were really pushing leasing and that is what I ended up doing.  There was a nearly $8000 rebate, plus more for the used status.  And the car is loaded -- all the bells and whistles. I gave my Toyota Prius (2010 with 112,900 miles, but still runs really well) to my daughter. So we're both happy. Little road trip coming up.