A Girl and Her Dough

The "girl" = me. The "dough" is not the spendy variety, nope. It's the floury, toasty, sometimes flaky variety. Me and my dough are going to break up for a while. I think the dough is going to handle it much better than me.

Eh, what can I say, I've started an elimination diet. I get a little crazy from time to time with food issues. Life for me revolves so much around food. I sort of like cooking (LIE! but I think I shouldn't admit I don't like to cook, considering my occupation), and I like to bake (LIE! I LOVE to bake!!!) I do lots of research & development for new recipes, and tasting is part of it. Even 1 bite of anything adds up when you do the same recipe more than 6x time to get it right. Anyway, sugar is a constant nemesis. I figured it's time to reign things in again, it's been about a year since I stumbled off that wagon. So, I'm coming up on my 1 week anniversary of virtually no sugar to speak of. I don't include fruit in that, not at all. So, my beloved peaches are still on my personal "approved" list, but perhaps maybe not 4 a day anymore. As I write, I've got 2 loaves of Cole's mango bread in the freezer, 2 boxes of Ezekiel sprouted English muffins on ice, bags of cookies I've baked frozen in time, recipes for chocolate peanut butter pie, chocolate peanut butter pancakes (sensing a theme?), and tiramisu on hold. I've even got the ingredients for all of those recipes ready to go, no easy feat on the tiramisu because that new recipe requires vegan English biscuits. So, the biscuits are in the pantry waiting for me too. That's a lot of sugar in a very small space, with a girl who is um, maybe a little cranky the last week or so of doing without.

Dough is the next to go, and that's coming soon. Although it seems like pretty much it's already gone anyway. I haven't had a morsel of anything baked, a speck of pasta, nor a wrap, nary even a slice of toast. Gluten free baking is big around here, but that's off for now because my self-imposed exile in sugar land. And, probably last to go will be my soy. I have no axe to grind with soy personally, but I like it, and eat it a lot. So, while soy is on "the list" it will not be eliminated, just reduced. And, what will I do when all this is done you might be asking? Well.... I'll of course do a timed distance run and see if there's any improvement. When that's all over, I suppose I'll put out the biscuits, the sugar, the flour and the soy milk, and celebrate with some peanut butter chocolate pancakes, peanut butter chocolate pie, some tiramisu or heck I may really live on the edge, and have a piece of toast.

Dough, my dearest dough. You are loyal and will always wait for me. A girl and her dough are never far apart for too long... thank goodness!

The Eternal Optimist (and a picture of Peri!)

Hi! How have you been? I'm ok, thanks for asking. It's been busy behind the scenes here, really busy--some good, some could be better, but we're still here in every sense of the word.

When I don't write as often as I'd like, it's harder for me to figure out what the heck I've been up to, and what's what around here. I'm not sure where my time goes, but it sure goes. I have no scientific facts, but it seems like this summer has been rainier than usual. Spring was barely a blip down here, again I have no facts to prove it, but for me it just seems like we went from winter to summer in a flash. I don't mind, it's all part of living where I want to be right now.  Despite the innumerable crushing things going on in the world on so many levels, I realized yesterday that despite every fiber of my being for years believing I am a pessimist, I realized that I am an eternal optimist. This happened during a run, and I'm still surprised by this revelation and coming to grips with it.

I'm doing my best to hold on to a regular work out schedule. For a short while, my running faltered due to so many pressures and obligations on my time. Finally I have put that behind me, and have been back on track. You know I hate running, I don't consider myself a runner by any means, but I might have to rethink that too.... 2 days ago I had occasion to get out extra early for a run. The sky looked threatening, but the other happy vegan assured me there was nothing on the radar. Off I went. Within 1/4 mile I found myself caught in an unbelievable deluge. I tucked my phone safely into a waterproof pocket, rolled my iPod to the inside of my shirt, and kept going. There was no lighting so no reason really to stop since I was already drenched. As I ran, I realized how much cooler it is that time of morning, so unlike the searing temperatures I face with my midday runs. A few people passed me in cars, mostly neighbors, waving with a little laughter that I could see through their windows. It didn't matter, and I turned in the best time I've had in months. Cold turns me away, lightning, snow, ice and all that stuff I never imagined I'd persevere through, but rain? Serious, bucketing of rain the ENTIRE time.... seems to be no problem.

That same day as I was driving, I rounded the bend, and a roseate spoonbill took flight from the Bight over my car. It was so close I think if I were outside my car, I would've reached and touched him (I never would have tried, trust me). I pulled over and just watched him fly away. Such a beautiful sight, and a rare one for us here in South Florida, sadly. But, there he was. Despite all the ruin we have put upon environment, they are still here. Just like us.

Yesterday it was another stormy day. I put on the running garb and off I went. It was indeed raining. It didn't matter to anyone it seemed. There are workers on my street, and they were still working. There were cyclists on my street, and they were still cycling. Pop was still outside, but tucked into the overhang of his house. And, there were animals and birds everywhere, absolutely everywhere. It was an incredible sight. Everything seemed to be moving. The birds were singing so loud I turned off the iPod and listened. That is when again, I realized there was another spoonbill in the Bight. You cannot miss them, that unbelievable pink color looks so artificial against the scarred earth at low tide in the Bight. Also, there were butterflies everywhere. Here on Big Pine, the aerial spray program for mosquitoes has been suspended for a time. The agency is still dropping larvicide, and doing whatever else it is they do, but the actual spraying of the air with poison to kill is on hiatus. This is due to the fact that 2 more butterfly species are being evaluated for status as endangered species. The poison seems to kill either them or their eggs. I wondered if it is possible that in the short time the program has been stopped that it's already possible that the general population of ALL butterflies down here has grown so much, again no scientific facts but it seems this way to me. Butterflies are like messengers to me, and since they were everywhere yesterday, I got a lot of messages!

As I kept on my course, I realized that I must be an optimist because despite what seems like insurmountable odds in the world, I keep going. The spoonbills keep going, the butterflies keep going, the sun still shines, and the moon will rise. My business keeps going, my relationships keeps going, I keep creating new goals, and I get out of bed everyday no matter what. Maybe this was triggered by a  movie I watched about the end of the world, and how people handled their impending doom? I wondered about that too, what would I do? Yeah, I've got a "bucket list" but would I really ditch everything I have here to go on a crazy chase to fulfill it? Not likely. I would still get up every day, cook and bake my organic vegan food for anyone who wanted it, marvel at the wildlife, stare at the sea, and play with my cats. The layers of "wants" in my life keep falling away piece by piece, mostly because I am happier with less clutter, less drama, and more simplicity.

I'm keeping on track for more simplicity. It's been a lot of drama and clutter clearing to get to this point, and I'm still not where I want to be on the "simple" level. But, the plan is set. It's good, it's really good.

So, despite the drama in the world, I admit I'm an optimist. I have not lost hope for the future of our species, or our planet. What's our reward for all this clutter and drama clearing? Well, it's a picture of Peri, of course!

Peri is napping after a long day of patrolling in the house!

A Little of This, A Little of That

Admittedly I'm in a funk. It came upon quite suddenly. I've had distractions around to help me out for a while.... besties from the cold zone came down to visit me. I had back to back visits with friends I never see enough of. The time went so fast. As usual we had loose plans to "do this" or "do that" but also as usual never make too many plans, because the Universe has in store for us whatever it has in store. Regardless, the visits were great. But, now they're over, and I'm back to my funk.

Today I went and got a hair cut and color. Lopped off a good amount of the stuff that is typically covered in a hat anyway since I don't like hair nets, and I must keep my hair covered while cooking & baking. Also, I had purple added to my hair. I used to do all sorts of freaky things to my hair before I lived here. I think that came from my mom, she began "perming" my hair as a pre-teen (hey, it was the 70s, what can I say) and I began to try and find ways to change my looks. I became somewhat of a conformist in high school hair-wise, but afterwards, not at all. When I used to go to the salon up north, I'd always start the session with "let's try something different" which can be music to a stylists ears... something fun. I've had green hair, red hair, black hair, blue hair, purple hair, brown and blond hair. I've had long hair, short hair, curly hair and straight hair. I thought about shaving part of it off when I saw how great Rhianna looked not too long ago, but then I slapped myself back to reality since the rest of me does NOT look Rhianna. Down here, people don't seem to do those fun things with their hair. I guess it's because those of us who live here are too busy working to be bothered with hair issues, and if we're not working, we'll be out on the water, or a beach somewhere, where it just doesn't make sense to worry about hair. I kicked my funk to the curb for a little while today with my purple haze hair.  But, I'm feeling the "icks" creep back slowly but surely.

This funk came on suddenly. What can I say. Sometimes when you least expect it, "expect it." I don't know what the "it" is, if I did, I'd be better able to brace myself. But, I got thrown for a loop recently, and I'm in a quandary about how I will handle it.  Don't panic, nothing life threatening is going on. I'm sure things will all work out somehow. Usually I'd deal with a funk by running, but I was so busy with visiting friends, the running was not a priority. When someone you haven't socialized with in essentially 13 years comes to town, running is not a priority (for me at least). And, now today's hair has resulted in a "suggestion" that I not wash it for a day, so again the running is off the menu. I'm working through some angst with a little extra time in the kitchen, and a little time spent with the cats.

Speaking of cats, let me take a moment here to say how great Peri is doing. He's remarkable in his perfection. In fact, as I write this, he is about 2 feet away from me, sleeping on my pink office chair. He has claimed everything in my home as his own, and this has brought quite a period of adjustment to my own furry family. Peri has put the weight on so basically he's just as he was before the walkabout that almost ended his life, and his medication must have fairy dust inside because it truly is magic for him.  This makes me happy.

On the turtle front, let me tell you that although I don't know if the numbers are higher or lower than other years, we are having nests. Mostly I pick up trash though, which is ok, because that's a very important part of the job... making sure the sea turtles have a safe habitat to nest, and that the habitat is clear so the hatchlings can make it to sea when ready (no hatches yet... too early). And, something REALLY cool I was involved with was relocating a sea turtle nest. I will not be publishing photos, or any details about the location due to concerns I have whether this would be allowed with the FWC people, as well as the fact I don't want to disclose the location of a nest which was already jeopardized by a risky location. Basically what happened is a mother turtle laid her eggs VERY low on a dune... VERY close to the water line. The nest would have been inundated by sea water due to tide changes. So, the person in charge of sea turtles in the Keys took care of the necessary behind the scenes administrative work and the nest was evaluated for relocation. The "experts" decided it was indeed in danger of being lost, so it was decided to relocate. As a certified wildlife paraprofessional holding proper permits to do this, the other happy vegan, myself, the FWC representative, and the beach walker who actually found this nest did the relocation. It took about 1.5 hours. The first thing we did was locate a nearby safer spot for the nest, and dig a new hole. We were encouraged to actually do this pretending to be a turtle.... kind of flinging the sand, and scooping the hole as if we had flippers. We are NOT allowed to bring shovels, or any type of equipment to do this job (well, ok, we brought garbage bags to clean the beach in the area, that has nothing to do with the nest, tee hee). Once the new habitat was ready, we set about to locate the nest. Then, slowly and ever so carefully, we moved the sand gently away. When we get to the eggs, as delicately as you can imagine, and with just one finger, we swept the sand away from each egg, and placed them, one by one, in order, into what the FWC turtle person brought. The eggs can not be tilted, the eggs must be kept in order, and the eggs can not be jostled at all. This nest brought forth 139 eggs (HUGE NEST!) and 7 that were damaged by the mother during nesting (the FWC representative told us that is not uncommon, as the mother puts all her weight on that nest after the eggs are covered, and really packs down the sand). So, under the watchful eye of the authorities, we moved this nest. It's quite interesting (to say the least) to have done this, and we are all holding our breath with fingers crossed for a healthy hatch. Certainly if nothing had been done, the entire nest would have been lost. As of now, there is no reason why this nest should not hatch on time. I would like to post pictures, but as I said, I don't want to jeopardize anything with authorities in case we ever come face to face with a need to do something like this again.  I will, however, of course post pictures of nest area after it hatches, and let you know how the shell count goes after the hatch.

For now, I'm heading back into the kitchen with my purple haze hair. Maybe tomorrow I can make time for a run, and clear my purple head. I'm looking forward to it.

Almost Father's Day Again

I'm getting a post up a couple days early for Father's Day. Here we've both been so very busy behind the scenes, I didn't want Father's Day to slip by unmentioned.

Aside from everything else that is taking my time lately, I have found myself once again pouring through things, and ruthlessly getting rid of "stuff." I have again declared stuff as my enemy, and have gone on a tear through my closet somehow coming up with a couple more boxes of donations (admittedly my clothing choices are getting less and less, and less and less.....) and finally today, I went through my entire living space and dusted things, and got rid of things. I have packed up several boxes of questionable items that I'm in the process of determining do they stay or do they go. Some of these items were gifts from my father. I don't have very many things from my parents, and even precious fewer items from my brother who was killed in an accident long ago. As I removed every single item from my display case, I got a little misty as I dusted off a 70s vintage llama statue. It was a birthday gift from my deceased brother. I remember when he gave it to me, it was one of the first gifts he ever gave me as a teen. I know it came from money he earned himself, and he actually chose it himself. This wasn't something that mom picked out for him to give me. How am I so sure? Because it's a LLAMA for crap's sake... who gives anyone a llama? My brother, that's who. He really liked that llama when he saw it. He bought it for me, and gave it as a gift with pride. Its one of 3 things I have from him. I got sad because I was looking at that llama, and wondering how in the world did it come to be that I have 3 things from him, and 1 is an old cartoonish llama statue. From there, I ended up pouring through my china cabinet, looking at all the beautiful crystal that my father gave me. I haven't used it in years. Every Christmas (back when I celebrated), a box of cut crystal would be under the tree with a really bad wrap job. By that time, my mom was passed for a while, and my dad was always beside himself on gifts for us kids, especially my sister and I. So, it was a relief when a friend, who remains a dear friend to myself and my family, came up with the crystal idea for dad. It really is truly exquisite, but I haven't used it in years. This seems almost criminal to me.

So, about this exquisite, yet criminal crystal.... I'm having some issues over it. I took every single stem of crystal out of my cabinet, and "pinged" it with my fingers. It rang long and beautiful. And, then I pulled every single box out of the attic, wrapped each piece in tissue, and had the other happy vegan stash the boxes full of crystal in the attic. I think I am going to get rid of it.  This is a very hard decision, because every box is a memory. In fact, one of those boxes actually still had some really ugly Christmas wrapping paper attached with tape. My dad had the worst taste in wrapping paper, it was so bad I really looked forward to seeing what he chose. He hated shopping, hated wrapping, and hated lugging things around. My dad was a minimalist before minimalism was "in."

After I wrapped all the crystal, I turned my attention to one last kitchen cabinet I have of personal items that are beautiful, but unnecessary. I have fine china. And, I also have pretty nice fine holiday china. The fine china was my grandmother's. It's SO Italian looking, if you can understand what I mean. It's old-fashioned, and very um.... decorated. I call it gaudy. I don't use it much, but how will I ever part with this I have no idea. I rarely use it. I am hanging onto it because it was a source of pride for my father to give it to me while he was still alive, and also because there are simply so few things that were actually from my grandparents, I must keep them in the family. Perhaps someday my nephew will have a home and a family of his own, and they will want this "Italian" family china. So, I can justify the clutter in 1 cabinet. The holiday china is an entirely different story. I used to LOVE Christmas. I used to celebrate the holiday, and entertain. So, my dad ended up gifting me some pretty holiday china, and as the years wore on, he would give me completer pieces and serving pieces. I have a decent amount of this holiday stuff, probably enough for 12 and then some. It's stashed in quilted china protectors, in a cabinet. I don't use it. I don't celebrate Christmas, and if I could wipe the month of December off the calendar, I would do so in a flash. But, this china reminds me of my dad. Again, the silly wrapping paper, the angst I knew he had endured behind every piece that he gave me. It's really true the saying "the gift is the journey" when it came to things my father gave me, because the journey for him was the shopping and the choosing. Not easy for him. I know how hard it was, and I don't take these things for granted, even after all the years he's been gone.

Father's Day is coming. I've done tributes to dad, and maybe in a roundabout way, this is another tribute, I don't think so though. It's just so hard for me to come to grips about emotions attached to stuff. Through the years, I have really been able to lighten my load of stuff. The more I give, the easier it is to give, and I want to give more. But, some things, I just cannot do. I looked around my living room today as it was torn apart for cleaning, purging, and packing. I looked at things with a very critical eye, and thought "if I had 5 minutes to get out of my house, what would it be that I would take?" Of course, this did not include living people and animals. It was limited only to stuff. I saw that llama, and knew it would be one of the things I would grab. I saw my grandparent's marriage license (all in Italian, of course) that my living brother had pieced together bit by bit after he found it going through things after dad died. He had it framed for me and gave it as a gift. It's very important to me, and I would grab that. I saw a painted tile that my mom did as a very young girl, and the maracas and percussion sticks from Cuba that she also used as a young girl. I would grab them all. And, I saw this ridiculous bottle of cherries in alcohol from Italy that I would grab in those 5 minutes. Those cherries have a story behind it that maybe I'll tell some day, maybe not. Truth be told, it's probably not all that hilarious if you're not from my family, so why even bother. But, those decades old alcohol soaked Italian cherries are one of those things I would mourn forever if I ever lost, they are THAT important to me. These things have no monetary value, but I have great comfort with them around me. And, with the china and crystal that I'm considering as something to maybe lighten my load... well it's not about the money, it's about that journey dad took for me.

I get a little funky every year around Father's Day. It's so hard to believe he's gone, and some days it hits me right upside the head like it just happened. I expect to turn around and see him, or call him. Just sit in the swing, have a beer and not really talk too much. I miss him so much. Sometimes people say "what I would give for just one more day...." Well, I know exactly what I'd give, and it would be a 60+ year old bottle of Italian cherries in alcohol. That is exactly what I would give for just one more day.

I hope those who will be observing Father's Day have a wonderful holiday. Cherish the moments while you have them. Nothing lasts forever.

Hello? Hello?

This weekend, the other happy vegan and I are both immersed in an animal communication workshop. This is in addition to working at the B&B (of course), and me having my usual food orders to fill for the week.  Animal communication is something I've grown to be much more interested in, especially since moving here.

I learned about this workshop a few months ago through another massage therapist. I was actually at an informal CEU class for craniosacral work (another huge mystery I'm attempting to unlock for my tool box). At the end of the class, I was handed a flyer that said there was going to be more continuing education held right here on Big Pine Key (how convenient!) and it was for animal communication. I knew instantly I wanted to attend, but couldn't sign up until pretty close to the deadline, simply because it's very hard to plan things when I know I have to work. After realizing I could attend the workshop despite all the other things I had going, I mentioned this event to the other happy vegan. He asked to see the flyer. He wondered to me if he could take it too (he is not a massage therapist, so neither of us wanted to assume it was open to non-therapists).  I called "M" the host for this workshop, and she enthusiastically told me of course it was open to anyone who wanted to attend.

We signed up.

Something in the last year or so has happened to me with how I perceive animals, I'm not sure why it happened, and cannot pinpoint the first time it happened. But, the "it" I refer to is this.... when I'm connecting with an animal, looking at them, thinking about them, speaking or singing to them, my energy often shifts to within the animal's perspective. It's weird, and maybe you don't even believe this, but it's true. Energy shifts from out of my body into the animal, and I can imagine being them looking back at me. And, from that moment, I do my best to really experience in the moment what they are seeing, and feeling.

I'm not really in tune with animals as far as being able to have an open flow of dialogue. Today proved that for me, in that this is a skill I will have to work on constantly. But, it's undeniable that the animals are coming to me and wanting to communicate more often with me. I'm convinced they are seeking me out because I am open to receive them, and really want to help.

We have had animal communicators here as guests in the past. Sometimes the tell me what they do, and at least once I clearly recall a communicator being here, but not saying anything until she was getting ready to leave. She told me a few things in particular about certain animals, and had questions about animals she had no idea who they were but thought maybe I'd recognize. And, then she said something that brought me great comfort.... that my airspace and home here draws many animals, living and in spirit. She said they are here all the time, some stay, and some just pass through. I told her how sometimes I do rituals for the animals, and how the special rocks & crystals I have are for them. She said she already knew that. I think the animals find this place a sanctuary because we don't eat them or exploit them. We love them, and cherish them. They can find safe haven here.

So, today we went to this animal communication class with no expectations, but a lot of curiosity. It has been a really great first day, but despite my best efforts at grounding, I find myself very tired. Doing massage therapy work, I am very accustomed to grounding as well as ways to protect myself energetically from others. I don't feel the need to protect myself from the animals' energy, but I do know I need to stay grounded. I think I was overwhelmed today, and didn't keep my focus where it needed to be. Neither of us happy vegans think we did a very good job receiving messages, but we did tap into a couple of things that has us talking even now, hours after the class ended for today.

Another thing that we did was attempt to find our spirit animal guide. For a long time, I had ideas of who may be guiding me, but today when we were doing the imagery exercise, an entirely different animal came to me, and I'll be honest with you, it was not one I would ever expect, nor particularly invite. There was some violent imagery from the animal through the exercise, and I had feelings that were not necessarily pleasant.  After, when we were given a list of animals and their meanings, some clarity was provided as to why perhaps this really may be one of my main guides. Yet, I am still unsettled by this part of today.

Today was devoted to living animals, while tomorrow will be devoted to spirits. You may think I'm crazy, but more and more I am "hallucinating" animals from my past. My "hat cat" has come to me several times in the last few months, while I've been visited a couple times by some of the others. I think the oddest story I have, which I still cannot explain, was while I was doing a massage session with one of my then regular clients long ago. At one point during the session, I looked across the table, and saw one of my beloved felines who long ago crossed the Rainbow Bridge, all tucked into my client's arm & side. The kitty looked at me, and I was stunned. I wondered why was she here, and how did she get into my room? At the time, my main feeling was shock, and I didn't ask any questions directly to the kitty.  I never asked my client if she knew she had a little kitty lying on the table with her for much of that session, but I suspect she had a general idea she was not alone.

My logical mind does it's best to dispatch these impossible appearances. My heart, however, is greatly comforted by their presence, and I continue to invite them to me anytime they want.  I miss them all so much.

So much has happened in the last few months, I have so much to tell you. But, before another day went by, and I missed another event "in the moment" I thought I'd tell you what's going on, a little glimpse of here, through all the other things.

Tomorrow is spirit day. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm going to soak in as much as possible. I'll let you know what happens!

Welcome Back, Kotter

I have been most neglectful of this blog. I have no reasonable excuse. Suffice to say, I've been very busy with work, and am reconfiguring a little bit of what I do, and when. Now, you might think that's awful to say, but you will completely forgive me when I do the PS: to the reasoning ... Peri. He's spending much time with us, and I simply am compelled to spend as much time as possible with him. He is doing marvelous, just marvelous!

I'll do a really quick rundown for you, and add that I do plan on being a better blogger in the days ahead.

Working from newest, to oldest, things have rolled like this...

Here, we have chosen some new appliances for this happy vegan. Things to make my life (hopefully) much easier in the kitchen. And, if we don't stay here, it will make things that much easier for the next happy vegan who comes into the kitchen. I've chosen a professional baker's oven. It's gorgeous. I confessed to you long ago that I got super excited when I saw the slop sink nozzle of my dreams, you can only imagine what went on when my new oven was picked out. I have worked up numerous new recipes over the last couple of months, some epic fails (what else is new...) and some really great additions (Matcha Green Tea Biscotti with chia and almonds anyone?) to the product line. I'm getting a little burned out in the kitchen, and am optimistic that the new appliances will help streamline production and organization.

Peri is an everyday love affair. He is really back to his old self, but of course the big missing part of his life is that he no longer is patrolling territory outdoors. He does get regular outside time on a tether, and he's doing well enough now that upon request from guests, we will let him onto our screened veranda for visits. He relishes that time, although often enough he will race to the back screen door, plunk himself down and howl to get out. He has taken to sleeping on my head (oh my goodness, I had a cat named Amethyst that used to be my "bed hat" and since she's gone no one has done that. Over the last week, Peri has been channeling Amethyst). My sleep is beyond poor lately. Peri is not light-footed at night, and when he arrives onto my pillow, it's quite the production on his part--without fail interrupting any sleep I may have been catching, and ruining me for at least another 2 hours. We are so happy that Peri is happy, stable (he's packing on the pounds in a good way!) and able to spend time with us here at Deer Run. His people parents are very sweet that way; I absolutely am crestfallen whenever he's not around.

I got out on the water yesterday for the first time in longer than I can remember. I put up a photo album on our Facebook page, please go visit the photos. It was so beautiful yesterday. We came upon roseate spoonbills on the flats, always such an unexpected treat.

Our issues with the County are not resolved. There are indications that they are willing to make the concessions we have indicated we expect at this point, however until I have what I want in hand then nothing is resolved. And, for that reason I feel like I remain in a mini-limbo. I have finalized many issues for other options, and you all should know that no matter what happens, we are committed to being activists and good stewards local.

Speaking of activism... we did participate in the March Against Monsanto this past weekend; did you? We joined in the March up in Marathon. There was a really good turnout, and I met some really awesome new people. We marched from the Community Park to the 7 Mile Bridge in sweltering heat (but don't worry, we're hearty folks and heat is nothing compared to the risks associated with not protesting...)  I am not looking to take away your Fritos or Doritos. You may have them should you desire. I am, however, all about labeling foods that are genetically modified. Presently, there are much stricter labeling requirements on ME for the products I sell as opposed to the ingredients offered to me (I buy only organic because I cannot trust that GM foods are labeled as such. Currently labeling of GM foods are voluntary only, and never in my life have I seen ANY product or ingredients with a GM label... have YOU?)

We have fawns in our herd now. When a fawn appears, everything stops in my house. I drop whatever I'm doing and rush out with my camera. I have no regrets about that.

Another thing I've been devoting much more time to is the organization Save-A-Turtle of the Florida Keys. The other happy vegan has recently become Acting President. There's been a lot of behind the scenes work we're doing to get things organized the way we want, and just work in general associated with that position. I'm doing my best to support his efforts, I type things, do computer-y stuff (please check out the SAT Facebook page!) and in general do the best I can for whatever needs to be done. Although we don't yet have any turtle nests on our beach, there are indeed several nests through the Keys now. No hatches yet.... the hatchlings will arrive in about 5 weeks give or take. Believe me, you'll know!  So, last Monday the 2 of us headed down to Key West to be guests on the "Key West This Week" podcast talking all about Save-A-Turtle and turtles in the Keys. It was an awful rainstorm on the way home, but afterwards we chased the biggest rainbow I've seen in years all the way home (you saw it if you're on our Facebook page).

I think I'll end this little ditty about here. I will put up some photos for you on the next post, just to catch you up.  Thanks for your patience with me. Paradise is a great place to live and work, but finding that perfect balance will probably always be challenging for me. I won't fail you, I promise!

Technology Is Not A Friend of Mine

I planned on posting a series of photos for you today. As you can see, there are no photos.

Yesterday I had to drive down and back to Key West twice. In one day. Coincidentally, yesterday we had the most horrid weather we've had here in months. Windswept, driving, pounding rain. It was most unpleasant. I had no idea the weather was supposed to be so skunky. When I left here in the late morning, it was overcast, but not a drop of rain. Admittedly the night before we had torrential downpours, and a blazing lightning show. But, that had no impact on the day as far as I was concerned.

I packed up the car, planned my stops, and hit the road. Halfway to Key West, I saw "it" coming before "it" hit. The skies ahead were black as night, and I could actually see the swift movement of the storm as it moved from one side to the other. Looking one way was overcast, but no rain, in the sky. To the other side, those dark ominous skies.  Curses.

There was no turning back, I had a schedule to keep and I plugged on. Within 5 minutes of my observations, the gates of Hades opened up, and I was completely consumed by close to whiteout conditions, which only worsened the closer I got to Key West. By the time I got into the city, flooding was already in progress. Thanks to the ridiculous, behind schedule, construction project at the mouth of the city, the bike path was flooding over, and one of two traffic lanes was impassible due to flooding. Of course I simply continued with traffic, literally going with the flow. I did note that the boats to my right seemed to be floating at a higher level. Eep.

By the time I got into the heart of Old Town, the water was up past the door jambs of my electric car. I never drove my car through such flooded conditions, and honestly electric or not, I'm not a fan of driving through flooding. I've seen those stories where a car begins to float in a few inches of water, and blah blah blah. Since I was past the channels and bay at this point, I knew at least I would not be carried out to sea. At every single stop sign and red light, I grabbed my camera and began taking photographs. I took photos of scooters knocked down due to wakes in their parking spots; photos of drenched bicyclists trying so hard to get where they needed, in water half way up their spokes. I took photos of cars rounding turns where headlights were swallowed up by water, and took photos of wakes rushing into businesses (a curse upon every single driver who drives fast enough to create a wake which drives water into someones home or business in Key West---there is NO excuse for that, EVER!)

In the 3 hours that it took me to go round trip and back on my first trip to Key West yesterday, I shot at least 50 photos.  Then, when I got home, I shot another round of photos that I thought were interesting on my street and property.

Last night I went down and back to Key West again, but did not bring a camera. I knew I had some great shots stashed on the memory card, and since the deluge was ongoing, there was no reason to risk a drenching of my camera.

This morning as I worked on my computer, I noticed my spare memory card on the desk. Not where I normally keep it, but I figured I forgot I left it there. After a few minutes I retrieved my camera, opened it up, and to my horror once again found an empty space where the memory card belongs. When, oh when, will I learn?

So, obviously the "spare" memory card wasn't the spare at all, and obviously there was again serious operator error.

When Peri comes over, I am forced to deal with the giant TV in the other room (come on, you DO recall this happy vegan being an insomniac who lies in bed all night long with the TV on, grabbing fits & spurts of sleep....) well that giant TV is so ridiculous, it has a mind of it's own. Apparently it is programmed to auto shut off after a certain period of time. In the dark, with Peri by my side, I'm fidgeting with an enormous remote control, trying to figure out the magic combination of buttons to press to get that television back on. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't. When I don't, things get ugly.

My cell phone is a 9 year old flip phone (recently disclosed to you here on the blog in one of my other rants on technology), because I cannot for the life of me figure out those fancy new phones. Oh sure, we have one for business, and that is a cause of almost constant anxiety for me.

I about fainted when I saw our washer/dryer has a computer I'm supposed to program to do a load of wash, and now that I have a new oven on order, my lip biting is starting to ramp up.... what if that too has a computer I need to contend with?

I tried to use our emergency radio the other day, and couldn't figure out how to turn it to FM. Yes, it's always set to "alert" but geez, forget about using it for every day.

Down here, gas pumps are computerized.  Not only do Jersey Girls Not Pump Gas, but happy vegans don't pump computerized gas. Oh yeah, when you see a female driving a hybrid in the lower Keys pulled over with hazards on... unless she's chasing around an injured animal for rescue, assume it is me, and I'm out of gas. That's always a special humiliation indeed.

Two things to sum this all up:

1. No memory card in the camera = no photos for you.

2. I'm having Peri over for a slumber party tonight, which means it's me vs. the Giant TV. Insert frowny face here.

Basically, here's all you need to know: it rained a lot in the Keys yesterday, and I will not be sleeping tonight, boo hiss. Enough said.