Flowers: balm for the spirits

Jackie and Mary sent me a big vase of flowers for Mother's Day.  They were delivered to our house in Valdosta on Saturday, and were here waiting for me when we returned from Amelia Tuesday. I've had a fine old time, dividing them up in different vases, with added greenery from the backyard, so now we are enjoying them all around the house.

A love story

Today is our Andy-Panda's 7th birthday, and what a joy he has been, for Jimmy as much as me.  He wasn't quite a year old when Jimmy was diagnosed with cancer, and had it not been for our daughter-in-law Mary, we would've had to give him away. She and Jackie kept him for us, off and on for at least a year and a half.

My 17-year-old long-haired chihuahua Teddy had died a few months before, leaving that hole in the heart only a dog can fill. Jimmy had said We Are Not Getting Another Dog, but as I was driving down Oak Street Extension, the pet shop drew me in like a magnet.

There was a little fenced area on the floor, with a dozen or so precious puppies, tumbling and toddling around.  "Can I hold him?"  I asked the salesgirl, pointing. "The Shih Tzu?" "No, that little black one, playing with the ball."  He was the ugliest of the bunch, but it was love at first sight.

I have AKC papers on him, but if he's a purebred chihuahua, I'm a teapot.  But no matter.  Jimmy forgave me for buying him (eventually) and fell in love with him, too, and we've all lived happily ever after.

We just keep on, keepin' on

Jimmy had his April blood work done in Valdosta, and the results we got back this week show that the Rev/dex is effectively knocking the myeloma back down.  He finished his 3rd round of chemo Tuesday, and every month his numbers have improved, while the RBC, WBC and platelets hold steady.  He continues to have issues with the meds, but that's okay: they're working!

At the end of this month we'll go to Emory for checkups, including mine this time.  I'll have the usual blood tests and a PET Scan, which I expect to be fine.

Jimmy and Jamey at the Ocean Club on Tuesday

Boat Mountain

On one of those long stretches of nothing between Statenville and Fargo is a field, and in that field is a large pile of dirt and debris, and sitting on top of that large pile of dirt and debris, like a star on top of a Christmas tree, is a boat. I laugh every time we pass it, coming and going from Fernandina, and wonder how  it got there and why.

Melissa's photo

my photo

"Seymour, darlin', I been thinkin'. That big ol' fishin' boat of yourn'd look mighty fine, gracin' the top of that trash heap down the way."  Well, that's as good a scenario as any.

I got tickled last week, when I logged in to Facebook and saw that Melissa Boatenreiter had taken a picture of it, and posted it with the caption, "I've always wondered how in the world that boat got on top of that pile...and YOU KNOW if you've ever ridden the back roads, you have wondered the same!!!! "

Visually connected

"Ping....ping......ping..ping!"  I could hear my iphone in the next room making its little pinging sound, letting me know that I had gotten a message: four messages, in fact, in less than a minute. It's unusual for me to get four messages in a DAY.

Each ping was a photograph, two from Suenelle in France and two from William on the west coast of Florida.  I hope they don't mind my sharing.

Fat French sheep

An assortment of local French goat cheese

William's porch on Boca Grande.  When I first saw this I gasped, it reminded me so much  of our beloved Seagrape

A ladies' tarpon fishing tournament in Boca

It's so nice to be able to vicariously enjoy the sights and experiences of others

 from my little perch, in the den at the beach

Mothers

Mary Cassatt  "Mother and Child" 1897

Mama and William,  1952

Ellen and Jackie, 1977

My babies ...now...

...and then

Roundabouts: just the facts, ma'am

Leaving the country club after an afternoon of bridge (the laughter and the camaraderie more than compensated for a spate of bad cards) I breezed through Valdosta's one (I think) roundabout, only to get bogged down at interminable traffic lights. It took forever to get to Winn-Dixie.  I could have gotten there 10 minutes sooner on a bicycle.

Amelia Island roundabout

Paris roundabout

There are at least 5 or 6 roundabouts in our immediate area on Amelia Island, and I marvel at the speed and efficiency with which they route a fairly high amount of traffic. Interested, I googled "roundabouts" and Wikipedia had quite a bit of information on them. Did you know that:

1.  Roundabouts have 40% fewer vehicular collisions than signalized junctions
 2.  Roundabouts have 89% fewer injuries.
3.  Roundabouts have 90% fewer serious injuries and fatalities.
4.  A single lane roundabout can be expected to handle 20,000 to 26,000 vehicles per day.
5.  A roundabout may operate much more efficiently than a signalized junction because drivers are able to proceed when travel is clear without the delay incurred while waiting for the traffic signal to change.
6. These advantages also reduce air pollution from many idling vehicles waiting for lights to change.

Bottom line: I like 'em. A lot.
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