Confessions of a Grandma

I got smart today and took my bike ride early...before the wind kicked up to 30-45 mph.  The wind has been relentless for the whole month of March and it has been colder than usual (but not that bad relative to other areas, so I do not complain. Usually, March is the nicest month here. Mike's swollen ankle has gone back to near normal.  His blood test showed a high level of uric acid which indicates gout.  We thought he had gout before, but the uric acid levels were not so high back then.  He of course wants it to be something else because gout means diet changes.  I am hoping I do not have to become the diet police.  On the other hand, it might mean fixing just one dish for the both of us--lots of vegetables without salt.   We need to follow up with his primary care physician at home for a review of the medications and how they may be impacting his kidney function.  So many meds mean too many side effects.  At least congestive he...

This is a community near where we live.  It is a gated golf community that covers acres and acres of land. I am not a golfer, but there are some in my family who would consider this paradise--to walk out he back door and be on the links. I noticed some signs as I took my walk today part way around the perimeter of that place. Yep, plenty of those around. And, yes, some sand hill cranes nearby. The wild life was not interested in crossing the road today.  An egret and a heron were having a fine feast in the creeks that had filled up in yesterday's rain.  They were not planning to move away any time soon.     And of course, these guys were just feeling too lazy, hanging out in the sun, to bother with crossing the road.      While I was walking, I did see one man playing a golf ball off the sidewalk.  Better that then hitting into one of the water traps.

The past two Sundays have been iffy weather-wise, and with Mike not being up for adventure because of foot pain or the medication for foot pain, I have had to amuse myself.  If it is going to be rainy, out comes the sewing machine.  I put together another quilt top.  The top is the easy part, especially since this material has all those blocks built in so I cut big pieces.  Even here in FL, I am building up scrap piles of fabric.  I made a couple of fabric bins to organize a closet.        I did not bring too much of my card making/paper crafting supplies with me, but I was inspired by a project on The Paper Boutique to make this lap book out of file folders and patterned papers.  I plan to use it for my medical insurance and prescriptions and all kinds of relevant personal information that I like to have in one spot.   It folds up.  I still have to come up with some kind of closure.   ...

We bought our Florida house from the original owner, who was extremely organized and who left us all the information we would need about the appliances.  He had the air conditioning unit put in and maintained by a particular company, which happens to be named Honest AC.  Their contact information is on the unit outside and on the thermostat inside.  The owner recommended them quite highly. After we had the closing we were contacted by a guy who claimed to have worked on the air conditioner and wanting to set up a contract with us to continue.  He wasn't from Honest Ac.  Mike said if he would lie about having done the work before, what kinds of major "problems" would he be able to find upon inspection?  Vermonters don't know much about air conditioning. Mike went to the Honest AC office.  They had our unit on file with all the maintenance records.  He signed a contract with them and pre-paid for the service contract.  They would come twice...

They say that Florida has only two seasons rather than four.  There is the wet season and the dry season. Having lived in the Northeast for all my life, I am fully aware of the changing of seasons from summer to fall to winter to spring.  I am also aware of the joy a beautiful spring can bring after a long, cold, snowy winter. I have been reading other blogs that are either celebrating the arrival of spring or waiting with breathless anticipation the snow melting and the first green shoots pushing through the earth. These flowers beside our house have been in bloom like this since we got here in December.  I am hoping the recent rain will turn the grass a bit greener.  Maybe a little bit of the stirring of hope the first little purple crocus can bring in missing in our Florida life. Still, there are signs of spring here if one looks.  Little leaves are popping out on the Crape Myrtle tree.  I don't think we will see it bloom this year, though. ...