Happy New Year..2011

This has been a full year. Besides the family events, one of the main things that stand out in my mind is the story of the Chilean miners who were trapped underground for months only to be brought safely to the surface one by one. That story alone was so uplifting in it's message of how people really do go out of their way to help when needed. We cared.

I have a lot of family members that I love very much but the one who brought the most joy to my life was Nolan, my great grandson. Who would have thought that one little person in the world could raise your joy level that much? I know his baby brother, who arrives sometime in February or March, will raise it even higher.

With every year comes happiness, sadness, and disappointments. If you're lucky, the happiness will far outweigh any negatives in your life. 2010 was a good one for me and I'm grateful to have been around to enjoy it.

My computer sits at the front window of my trailer now and I get to watch the world go by as I type and surf. It's a busy corner here because it's right across the road from the clubhouse so there's always lots of activity. I see the walkers, the cart riders who wander the park and visit, the cleaners, and the odd visiting child ride by on their bikes. This year there is a 95 year old man who walks by at a fast pace and I mentally toss him my respect and amazement every time he scoots by. Can you just imagine all he has seen and experienced of the world in his 95 years?

Today, New Year's eve, will be one more of the nice days in my life. There are over 40 of us going out for dinner together and then there's the party at the clubhouse in the evening. I'll finish off the year with good friends...who could ask for more?

If there's anything this old gal can tell you about life, it's that it's mainly how you personally construct it. It takes some of us longer to learn the knack and, unfortunately, some never learn it. You usually have choices about the path you'll take and each choice can lead you in drastically different directions so choose wisely.

I had to live a long time before I got it sort of figured out and now I know the path I'm on is the right one. When I was younger, it was more like being on one of those bumper car rides where you veer from one collision to another and you have almost no control. My life is calmer and more self directed now. I remember my grandmother saying that she wished she was young again but knew what she knew now. I always thought that was a silly saying but now I understand it. She was right.

Anyway, Happy New Year and lets all hope next year brings that peace on earth that we all wish for.

Christmas is Over

Another Christmas come and gone and I'm quite happy it's over. It's always an enjoyable part of the year but I'm a little sick of those icky Xmas stories on T.V. and the commercials that tell you the only way to let your loved ones know they're loved is if you buy them the advertised product.

Christmas is mainly fun and can be less stressful if you accept you can't afford to spend too much money on presents. You can also lessen the stress by having your dinner guests bring some of the food. Why not? Everyone, even the host and hostess, has the right to not be too tired to enjoy the day.

I used to start my Xmas shopping in January, just falling upon the perfect gift throughout the year instead of draining my energies during December. That's also when there are lots of sales and stores are trying to make room for spring merchandise.

My first Xmas in Florida felt strange...no snow and no relatives...but now it's just fine. My friends here are close enough to almost take the place of relatives and they're fun to be with. One day in the future I'll have to stay home for Xmas and I'll enjoy it just as much because my family will be there, too. It's family, whether blood, in-law, or good friends, that make the season one to look forward to every year.

Holiday Presents or Christmas Presents

I heard on the news this morning that the average American spent $450 on Christmas presents this year. Hmmm! Now, did the economy benefit from people buying "Holiday" presents or "Seasons" presents? NO! Businesses benefited from people having the "Christmas" spirit and buying "Christmas" presents.

Believe me, if the politically correct idiots have their way to take "Christmas" out of Christmas, people will gradually lose their Christmas spirit and stop buying so much at that time of the year. It will drop to a few token presents (which will have a drastic effect on the economy) to nothing. When you consider that stores make their year's profit in December, why would they go out of their way to squash the Chrstmas spirit of buying presents?

Everyone I talk to has the same opinion, anger at what we see as our traditions being trashed. That anger is also directed at the tiny minority that we also see as being responsible for the loss of our long standing traditions. But most of us only feel anger and don't make demands of the people who make up the rules.

It's a helpless feeling knowing that a tiny percentage of the polulation is to blame for taking away one of the finest traditions in our society. Merry Christmas to all who still care.

Memories of Xmas Eve

Xmas Eve in Florida is nice but memories of Xmas Eve from years past are always on my mind.

I remember when my own little girls were young and we had such a hard time financing presents for the occasion. There never seemed to be enough money to buy all we wanted because living on one salary wasn't easy.

I remember the year my children were about 7, 8, and 1 and I woke them up on Xmas morning. Cindy was so excited and came running out yelling, "My boy, my boy!. I think she was talking about Santa but who knows? One of the girls got a doll buggy that year and they had fun pushing their baby sister around in it.

I remember the year I took pictures of the girls as they excitedly tore open their presents. When I had the pictures processed, I noticed how ratty their pyjamas looked and vowed to buy them new pyjamas ever Xmas to be opened on Xmas Eve...thus began a new tradition for us.

I remember the year we hid all their presents under our bed only to discover that Shelley had been snooping. Dennis went up and crawled under the bed and I sent Shelley up to our room for something. When she looked under the bed (as we knew she would), Dennis said hello and Shelley was mad as a wet hen to have been caught.

I really don't remember when we began our tradition of having an open house for the whole family on Xmas Eve but it was a huge success and no-one seemed to mind that our house wasn't huge and crowded in anyway, enjoying catching up with all the relatives. We did that every year until Dennis retired and we began spending our Xmas in Florida.

Everyone seemed to feel at home at my house and that gave me such pleasure. All the work that lead up to Xmas Eve was well worth it as I looked upon the wall to wall people all smiling and laughing.

I remember the year all the kids and cousins put on a skit for us down in the basement rec room. It wasn't long before we realized that the characters the kids were playing were US! They were fabulously funny and somewhere there is a video of that skit but I don't know where.

I remember the first Xmas Eve after Dennis passed away and I wasn't sure how I'd feel being alone that day...but I wasn't. Joyce and Larry came down to Florida to spend it with me and I've always been so grateful to them for their kindness. Of course, all my buddies here in Florida were there, too, to make the holiday a warm one.

Now today is Xmas Eve, 2010 and this is the way I'll spend it. A group of us ladies are invited to Joann's house for tea and goodies this morning. You can bet there will be lots of love and laughter there! Tonight there will be a Christmas service at the clubhouse where some of the residents will put on a skit and then we'll have more goodies. It's the fellowship of friends that matter here.

When I get home, I'll phone my own house back in Canada and hope my children, grandchildren, and great grandchild are there to speak to. I won't be surprised if they're out visiting other relatives, though. If I don't catch them tonight, I'll catch them tomorrow!

It's bittersweet spending Christmas here in Florida while my children spend it at my house in Canada. Would I ever consider flying home to spend it with them? No. But I do miss them.

Merry Christmas!!

Once a Pedophile, Always a Pedophile

In the news is the story of a pedophile being arrested for abusing children. Nothing new, but the fact that his victims' parents knew he was a pedophile and still left their children alone with him infuriates me.

It is absolutely unbelievable that anyone would leave the most precious people in their lives under the care of someone who is known to be a molester. Those children are scarred for life because they have brain dead parents who are suffering now (tough s--t) because they didn't use the sense they were born with.

This isn't the first time parents have knowingly exposed their children to pedophiles and it won't be the last. They do it for different reasons...some just because they choose to ignore the danger. Heaven help the poor children who have no-one to protect them.

In my eyes there is no such thing as a reformed pedophile. In order for them to have sunk to the depths of defiling a child, they have crossed a barrier in their thinking that they can't recover from. No child will ever be 100% safe with them and no child should ever be left alone with them. If there was a caste system in the western world they would be the lowest and dirtiest and fit to be shunned for the rest of their lives.

To parents...don't ever, ever trust a pedophile with your children. They can't be trusted and the damage they do can destroy your children's lives. Why would any reasonable parent take a chance like that?

X-Rated Laughs

Six of us ladies played "31" at the clubhouse last night and did a repeat on our unplanned efforts to disrupt the larger game of bid euchre going on beside us. We don't mean to be so noisy but something is always said by one of us to make the rest laugh hysterically.

Last night we had so much fun discussing some x-rated topics that we couldn't even explain to the other tables what got us laughing like schoolgirls. One of the men playing at another table said he hated sitting at a table next to us on card night because he couldn't concentrate on his game. I don't know if he was complaining but I'm afraid it won't have any effect on us...we just have too much fun together.

I know I'm always saying how much I love being here with these people but I never, ever laugh as much as I do here in Florida. It may be putting more laugh lines on my face but it's also putting more spirit in my soul.

I think seniors experience much the same freedom and naturalness to enjoy themselves as children do. We're not out to impress anyone or draw attention to ourselves like younger people do. We are free to enjoy the moment and we don't much care if we look foolish doing it.

It's sort of interesting how not one of us ladies live close to each other (mostly different states or provinces) and don't see each other for at least 6 months of the year but, when we do get together, it's as though we've never been apart. Sort of like sisters, right?

Right now my 3 daughters are spending the Xmas holidays together for the first time in many years. I'll bet it seems to them as though not one single day has gone by since they were together because their closeness isn't based on distance but by the love in their hearts.

Sisterhood...a huge ingredient in the glue that holds civilization together.

The Importance of Grandparents & Great Grandparents

As some of my coffee morning ladies were leaving yesterday, we were all yakking away and bragging about our precious and much loved grandchildren and great grandchildren. We recognized the inalienable right we have to praise these children to the stars and be totally understood by everyone else.

Parents love their children but grandparents and GG's adore and worship the little monkeys. We hang on their every movement and word as though it came from heaven. These children really do become the centers of our worlds.

It's very good for children to have someone in their lives who think they are perfect and worthy of adoration. Not many parents can fulfill that position because they are with the darlin's full time and have to put up with stuff that us seniors still think is cute. That's only because we can walk away if the little angel cuts up too much.

All of my children are lovable and all of my grandchildren are adorable but Nolan is a gift from heaven. Maybe it's the age that matters. As the children get older, we have a second chance with our grandchildren and as they age, we have a third (and probably final) chance with our great grandchildren. How could we ever fault our last chance?

Christmas week in a senior park finds scores of children visiting their grandparents and it's so sweet to see the smiles on everyone's faces. If my precious little Nolan was here with me, you couldn't pry the smile off my face.

I guess this is another chance to harp on my feelings about the importance of family. Every generation can benefit from the other and it's proven time after time. Families were meant to mingle together on a regular basis. You only need to look at the lined and weathered face of an old gentleman as he glows with happiness as he looks down at his progeny....and the soft smile of the grandchild who knows they mean heaven and earth to that old man.

Flour, Salt, Water Ornaments

These are the ornaments I made out of the flour, salt, and water dough. I painted them with red or gold folk art paint which went on very well but I learned a few things not to do with my next batch (not counting being careful about setting the microwave timer properly).

I would have preferred to have rolled the dough out thinner because some of the centers aren't really hard. I think it will dry out in time, though, but for now some of the items have puffy centers and some have collapsed centers. It would also have been better to make larger holes for hanging.

I used folk art paint but it would be best to use water washable paints when doing this craft with children. The folk art paint did wash off easily if I didn't let it dry too long, though.

I also wish I'd kneaded the dough longer to make it smoother. I also will sand off the edges next time. Since this was my first attempt, it turned out okay and really was easy to do. I will definitely watch the time on the microwave on my next attempt and limit cooking to 2 minutes with a repeat of 1 minute if necessary. If the dough is rolled thinner it probably won't even take that long.

Again, the recipe is 2 parts flour, 2 parts salt, and 1 part water. Knead until the dough mixture is nice and smooth before rolling out. Use cookie cutters for making the ornaments, punch in a hole with a pencil at the top of the ornament, place them on an oiled plate and bake in the microwave for 2 minutes. Watch them carefully!!

They'll hold heat for a while so let them sit until cool before painting them.

Have fun! I did, even though mine are less than perfect.

Nice Day

I woke up today to sunny skies and the promise of afternoon temperatures in the mid 70's. Perfect! I gathered my laundry together, glanced at the neat little trailer that needed no more work than making the bed, and headed over to the laundryroom. I didn't need a coat or even a sweater!

I love drying laundry on the clothesline and letting the clean air filter through it. Anything that might need ironing goes in the dryer so that it doesn't need ironing. My irons last forever if I'm careful.

Sylvia and I left the park at 10:30 and made a stop at Walmart for a few things. I'd forgotten my thong sandals and had to buy a pair there. I only use them for when I get a pedicure and today was the day. Sylvia had never had a pedicure before so it was a special treat for us.

After the pedicure we went to Wendy's for lunch...I should own shares in that restaurant! Sylvia is great company and I'm so glad that she and Mickey have decided to forget about selling their trailer and now plan to stay at our park for as long as possible. By that I mean as long as their health and money hold out. That's the same story for me.

When we got home I took the clothes off the line, folded them and put them away. Then I took a good book and a glass of Diet Pepsi out on the patio. It really was one of those perfect days when there was not one thing about it to complain about.

Tonight we play Bingo and then I'll watch T.V. or play on the computer until about 11 P.M. Maybe not an exciting day but still a nice day all around!

Christmas Craft

Well, this the total result of 2 hours spent trying to make a few Xmas ornaments out of flour, salt, and water. It sounded so easy that I thought even I could be a success at it but I was wrong.

About a dozen of us ladies went over to the clubhouse to learn this interesting new craft taught by Joann. She showed us a snowman and a lifelike cherry pie she'd made and they looked darned good. We all were given the ingredients and the recipe (2 parts flour, 2 parts salt, and 1 part water) and began mixing them up. Mine and Vicki's needed a bit more water, so we thought, and we went ahead and added it before Joann gave her warning...not to add any more water!

We struggled along and various lumps of a doughlike substance emerged from everyone's pots. Some were dry and flaky while others were acceptable. Mine was sort of acceptable and I thought everything would turn out okay. Uh, Uh!

Why would it be so hard to make 3 progressively larger balls for a snowman? Mine were cracked and the largest one's crack served as it's behind. Then we got silly and I made a few X-rated items for my snowman. Joann went ahead and put them in the microwave to cook (2 minutes). She put any that didnt' cook in that time into the stove oven to finish them off.

While the snowman was cooking I rolled out the dough and used Jo's cookie cutters to make a host of gingerbread men, stars, and hearts. These were really easy to do and I thought I'd found my area of expertise. No!

I didn't listen to Joann when she said we had to oil our tray before putting the dough people on it so mine went into the microwave with no oil. They stuck to the tray and it melted onto the microwave plate. After powering my little ornaments off the tray and cleaning the microwave plate, I put the last of my ornaments into the microwave on a greased tray and set it for 2 minutes...I thought.

While I was racing around trying to paint my snowman balls, the ornaments in the microwave erupted in flames and smoke filled the kitchen. Embarrassed, I cleaned up the mess while everyone else tried to clear the kitchen of smoke. The ornaments ended up burnt to a crisp and went into the garbage. Vicki felt sorry for me so she gave me a bunch of hers.

I left that craft class with a crumby looking snowman who needed his nose, hat, arms, and buttons glued on. I also had a load of star, heart, and gingerbread ornaments (some uncooked because I was afraid to use the microwave again) that need painting. I was a supreme failure at this interesting craft and my only bit of good luck was that I didn't try to make the cherry pie. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of havoc I could have caused if I'd set my aspirations that high.

I think I'll stick to Swedish weaving.

Haircut

I got my hair cut the last week of October and decided at the last moment to change the style so my hairdresser started the transition. I wasn't sure if I liked it but seem to like it better as it gets longer. Now I'm way past the time when I should get a trim but I still haven't found a good hairdresser around here.

When my friends at the park saw the earlier hairdo in transition, I got lots of compliments but the style wasn't finished so I wasn't sure whether to let it remain where it was, let it grow in more, or just go back to the original cut. Men are so lucky!

Now the bangs have gotten way too long but I'm afraid to cut them myself...I've ruined too many hairdos that way. So I took a temporary step to give myself more time to decide...I put curlers in to lift the bangs a bit so they're not blinding me.

Most men get the same haircut month after month and they never seem to agonize if it's a bit too short. Women are seldom happy with their hair but once in a while the stars are in alignment and we do have a good hair day. I think we may be too vain but there's no getting around the fact that, if we have a horribly bad hair day, we tend to hibernate and keep out of the public eye until our hair looks decent again.

I can live with a bad hairdo as long as the bangs are left long. Too short bangs cause me to continually yank on them to drag them down to their longest possible length. Then I say to myself over and over, "They'll grow 1/8" each week and won't look so bad in a couple of weeks!". My nightmare haircuts have always consisted of chopped short bangs.

Well, I can't procrastinate too much longer and will have to find a qualified hairdresser soon but it really scares me to death to trust my hair to someone whose skills are unknown to me.

It's Damn Cold!

Seniors leave Canada in droves in October to escape the cold and snow so we're not the tiniest bit happy that the cold has dripped all through the northern states to the southern states and we're cold!

I covered all my plants on Sunday just before the frigid winds began to blow into Florida. Yesterday I discovered that the vicious, cold winds had blown some of the sheets off the plants, overturned a chair to squish a plant, and knocked my clay mask onto the ground where it shattered. Can it be that there will be no refuge in North America from the cold in the future?

This is only December and no-one can remember it being so cold here in mid Florida this month, certainly not below freezing the way it has been. True, the daytime temps are still pleasant but not for lolling at the pool. Usually we sit around and giggle about the snow our family and friends are getting back home but these days we're worried that we'll wake up to snow ourselves.

I'm going to have to keep my remaining plants covered until Wednesday or Thursday because freezing nights are still in the forecast until then. It makes one wonder what January and February will bring to us poor snowbirds.

A friend called me last night and warned me to keep one of the taps dripping all night just in case the pipes froze. It's never occurred to me that I'd have to worry about that in Florida.

All I ever hoped for in my golden years was the warmth and sunshine of Florida in the wintertime. Now I'm wearing socks to keep my feet warm!

Fred Phelps..Man of Hate

He leads a congregation of about 70 people and calls himself a man of god but Fred Phelps is a preacher of hatred. Westboro Baptist church is based in Kansas but it's followers have made it their mission to demonstrate outside funerals of American soldiers, carrying signs and spewing out their inner demons in the name of their god. What is even worse than this scenario is that there doesn't seem to be any legal way to stop them. Common decency has always before taken care of such demonstrations. These church people have no sense of decency.

When I first saw news footage of the way this church behaves at soldiers' funerals, I was astonished. First because a godly church group would behave in such an evil way and then because no-one could stop them. Parents grieving at their young son or daughter's funerals had to endure a ratty group of Fred Phelp's followers who chanted hateful obscenities and carried signs denigrating their dead children.

Now this same group of "god's people" plan to demonstrate at Elizabeth Edward's funeral which will be held today. This is a group of evil, intolerant people portraying themselves to be honorable followers of a loving, but selective, god. Their god teaches hatred and they are eager disciples.

I can't even imagine how the presence of demonstrations like this would affect grieving family and friends at a funeral for their loved ones. The mental anguish would be excruciating to endure. I can't imagine why these awful people haven't been physically attacked by furious family members but I assume they are fully protected by police officers so this doesn't happen. I feel sorry for these poor police officers who are bound by an unfair law.

But one day Fred Phelps and his clan will get what's coming to them. One way or another.

Taxes and the National Debt

Just look at the sweet innocent faces of your children. They trust you with their lives and, unknowingly, their future. As the national debt rises and we foolishly keep our taxes as low as possible, who do you think is going to to be responsible for paying the piper?

Look again at those dear little faces and tell them the truth. It will be them.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays??

It doesn't seem as though a whole year has passed since I ranted on about the injustice of businesses trying to shove "Happy Holidays" down our throats at Christmas time.

I just heard on the news that 91% of Americans (and I assume Canadians, too) celebrate Christmas. Almost always this means lots and lots of Christmas presents are bought at this time of the year, too, thereby benefiting business establishments. Why would these businesses be stupid enough to downplay the Christmas aspect which, if adopted, would diminish the number of items bought in December to give as presents?

It's not so much the religious slap in the face but the idea that a small contingent of people can destroy our deeply rooted traditions. Why can't their traditions just be added to the present ones without taking ours away? I'd love to learn about and celebrate other traditions.

A few years back a salesperson told me that her boss told her she'd be fired if she said "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays". So very, very sad. You would think that in this day of multi-culturalism we'd be embracing each other's traditions instead of trying to eliminate them. Especially because it's the tiny minority trying to dominate the majority of the population.

I stand firm on not spending any of my Christmas money at stores where "Merry Christmas" has been replaced with "Happy Holidays". That is the only way to fight back because we can't count on business owners or operators to see the light without first seeing their profits hurt.

Lost Days

Elizabeth Edwards passed away yesterday and she left a legion of women who identified with her, women who had cheating husbands or suffered from breast cancer. She was a heroine who played out her last days with grace and she is to be admired for that if nothing else.

One of the things she said to an interviewer was that there were days she couldn't get out of bed because her world was so devastated at the time. Most, if not all, of us can identify with that, too.

Being under the covers and shutting out all that hurts us can be too compelling to resist. The world can be a dangerous and hurtful place and sometimes we need all of our resources to face it. Days like that are lost to us forever if we give in to the temptation to hide from it all.

I've found that the sheer willpower to stand firm and face whatever crap is being tossed at you is the very act that can make you strong enough to survive. Hiding or backing down from adversity only weakens you.

Elizabeth Edwards had more crap to deal with than most of us ever will and she took the high ground. She placed her children first and foremost and that's how she survived as long as she did. The cancer turned out to be tougher than she was, though.

We should never waste any of the days we are given. Live them to the fullest, find enjoyment wherever it can be found, and form serenity in your soul.

Update on my car: I put some kind of additive into the tank yesterday that is supposed to clean it and remove any water and then I filled the tank with premium gas. It's running next to perfect today. Life is good!

Florida Frost

Today it was so cold outside that I had to have my ladies coffee morning inside the trailer. Once before, there were so many ladies here that some almost ended up drinking their coffee in the bathroom and it almost happened today.

I had stupidly neglected to close the door window in the Florida room and by the time I thought of it, it was too late and too cold in there to be able to heat it sufficiently with the little space heater. My guests would have been way too cold out there so we just all cuddled up inside the trailer. From now on I'll remember to heat that Florida room on Monday mornings.

It has been unseasonably cold here the last few days and now tonight it's supposed to go below freezing so I've covered my more delicate outdoor plants with old sheets to keep them healthy. I don't remember having to do that in December but now that we have global warming (LOL!) things have changed.

Back to the coffee morning...as I looked around at all the ladies here I thought how lucky we were to be surrounded by such nice people. All of these ladies are treasures in their own way and all of them make my little world just that much happier. The world is full of good people and we have more than our share right here in our trailer park.

I've made it a requisite in my life for quite a few years that I'll only hang out with people who are "positive" types and fun to be around. Negative people only make you feel low and they're not fun at all to chum with. The ladies whose company I prefer are usually interested in lots of things and have a good outlook on life. People like that make you feel good and that's what I want. If we want to, we can always find things to bitch about and feel sorry for ourselves about but why dwell on it? Anyway, thank heavens my little circle of buddies are bright, interesting, and fun.

Tonight is my last quiet and solitary night of the week. Tomorrow through Saturday begins the nightly card or game nights that we enjoy. And I really do enjoy them but I also need the occasional quiet night. When I envision my nights at the park, I think of how 5 nights are a whirlwind of socializing until Sunday and Monday when I slip out of the whirlwind to catch my breath before jumping in again on Tuesday. It's the best of both worlds.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Every time I hear on the news the furor over whether or not the military should have a policy of "don't ask, don't tell" for gay servicemen and women, I shake my head and wonder why so much time and energy is being spent on this subject.

It matters not one iota what your sexual preference is as long as you are an honest and honorable person. It is no-one's business who anyone sleeps with.

When dealing with someone, I'd be much more concerned with whether or not that person had a communicable disease but somehow the civil rights people have managed to suppress that kind of information to the public. I really don't care who the person I'm dealing with has slept with the night before but I do care if he/she might transfer deadly germs of any kind to me.

In talking to my grandchildren, I can see how times have changed. There is no longer a widespread feeling of revulsion when discovering that someone is gay. Young people generally are a million times more accepting than they were when I was young and that's a great improvement.

In any case, stop concentrating on who sleeps with who and start paying more attention to qualities that really matter.

Florida Mold

One of the biggest problems in Florida, besides the bugs, is mold. If any part of your trailer or house has a leak and is not dealt with, it will become blackened with mold in no time.

I've had several water leaks in the trailer and they all were repaired. The first one was in the tipout which houses the bedroom closet and Dennis had to completely rebuild it. The second one was where the trailer was joined to the Florida room and Dennis repaired that.

The worst one was a couple of years ago when the whole front of the trailer had to be rebuilt because water had seeped into all of the framingand that job was done by Mickey, Sylvia's husband.

This last one was this year when I saw the floor of the tipout in the kitchen seemed to be dropping so Mickey took a look and discovered the window had been leaking and that rotted the floor and some of the framing. Good old Mickey to the rescue again. He fixed it, too.

I have no idea where the next leak will cause me trouble but I'm more than fed up with having to repair my residence. I'm so thankful to have someone I can count on to fix things but it's really stressful to see your home in bad shape.

I'm happy with the final result here and have moved furniture around. The desk now sits at the front window and the table and chairs are back in their original spot in the kitchen. It's a nice change.

But then I was struck with some more bad luck. I filled the car with gas on Wednesday on the way home. Yesterday I took a drive and the car sounded horrible and bucked like a bronco. It was one of my worst fears come true...my car was unwell and I was 1200 miles from home.

Mickey told me it could be bad gas and to get some sort of cleaner for it. Off I went with Sylvia and we found the product at Auto Zone. I emptied it into the tank immediately and was relieved to notice that the motor seemed to run smoother, gradually! Today it's even better but still not normal. When it idles it almost stalls and then recovers but I'll give it a couple of days and, if it's still acting up, take it to a garage. I really hate to do this but will if I have to.

To add to my misery, it's turned damned cold for Florida!