Confessions of a Grandma

My credit card came overnight, no hassle involved at all.  What a pleasant surprise for me! I had the grapefruit tree in the yard taken out yesterday.  I kind of hate to get rid of another tree, but it is way too much work to take care of the tree and the fruit when I am not here all the time and I don't eat grapefruit very much and rarely drink the juice.  Fruit that falls on the ground and does not get picked up right away can attract rats.  I don't want to deal with that. Now there is a large spot of mildew on the back wall that is visible since the tree is gone.  I will have to spray that.  It's also time to weed and mulch the flower beds and shrubs around the property.  I have a stone walkway from the carport to the shed that does not seem to have anything under the stones but some dirt.  That means weeds pop up and ants burrow in.  I look at it and wonder how I should tackle that...or IF I should tackle that. The literacy program,...

It does not seem to fail that something happens to compromise my credit card when I am in Florida.  That means the hassle of closing it out and then waiting for a new one to arrive.  Then there is the hassle of activating a new card from my home phone when I am 1500+ miles away from that phone. It is a good thing sometimes to be tracked, though, creepy as it is.  Someone--more likely a nameless computer program--noticed that a $475 charge for make-up and beauty products popped up on my account.  A $47.50 dollar charge might have caused a minor blip, but the larger amount really deserved to set off alarms.  I tend to put everything on my charge card, pay it off once a month, and then use my points for something fun or frivolous.  Out of all those monthly expenses that go on the card, pretty darn little goes for make-up. Of course, if the nameless computer had been able to see my damaged face from a month ago, it might not thought anything amiss with my o...

Sea fog rolled through the neighbor hood Sunday night...so dense and so moist. Is it a cloud or a sponge?  At first I thought it was rain sweeping in when I looked out the door, but the couple walking by were not being drenched at all.  I could taste the salt in the air.  The light from the street light was refracted in the most eerie way and, later,  I saw the same glow over the city to the west. That kind of light could inspire a painting .  Oh, it did. 

Wednesday morning, I was walking on the beach.  The conditions were exactly what Mike always hoped to see.  As I got to his favorite shark tooth hunting territory, I was remembering how he could spend hours on such a morning scouring up and down that smallish stretch of beach. I have found teeth before, but I was never one of the dedicated hunters.  As I walked along, I spied a small shark's tooth and picked it up. Sorry about the quality. Since Mike and I continue to chat, I said, "It would nice of you to toss a big one up at my feet.  You know how how I love a sign." Don't judge until you have been there.  I really am not nearly as crazy-whacko as I may sometimes sound. And guess what:

Having my body battered in an accident has certainly taught me to be more cautious.  I also have to think that the yoga classes I have been taking are helping.  I really feel as though my balance has improved...and maybe not just in the physical sense. My bruises have faded.  I can still feel a small lump over my left eye, another on my lip.  My face is tender just under the left cheek bone but it doesn't seem swollen.  My left knee is still my souvenir of the smash on the pavement.  It still needs time to heal.  I am really hoping it is not going to be one of those weather-predicting joints.  Nothing was torn or broken but the swelling is still evident and it really does not like dampness right now. The folks at the ER had given me a name of a doctor to contact for follow-up.  I really didn't feel the need, but his office called and I decided to make an appointment just to establish myself as a patient with a doctor here in Florida. I w...

Google image I wish that I had thought to take a picture of the pile of prescription drugs Mike had accumulated last summer.  I do not even have the list with me here, but he was taking pills for blood pressure, heart rate, stroke prevention, cholesterol, GERD, and probably a couple of other things that don't come to mind right now.  He was taking pills to mitigate the side effects of some of the other pills.  And, my, my, he had plans with that stash of viagra.  Then he had about three different medications for gout symptoms, two different prescription narcotic pain killers. and a very expensive cream for skin cancer lesions on his head. He had reordered a three month supply just before he went into hospital and many of the bottles were never even opened.  There were A LOT of pills in his drawer. He used an on-line pharmacy.  I called them.  They would not take anything back even if it had not been opened.  I went to the local pharmac...

It has been a few years since the city of Venice turned a desolate looking waste water treatment site into a lovely park area. I took a walk around with camera in hand.  The park is located between the Venice fishing pier and the Paw Park. You can see that it was a gorgeous day for such a walk.  Don't hate me because I say winter is my favorite season. I didn't happen to spot an alligator this time.