LET'S PLAY..... Remember when..

Remember when I showed you guys my lovely Christmas tree?



Remember? It's just a simple fake tree with several hundred lights.....


Remember, I have my silly garland around my door and window...with attached lights?


I love it simple. Now, I'm showing you all this because I have to rant about my neighbor again.


Remember my neighbor? The same one I ranted about last spring, shortly after I moved in here at the compound?


Remember her side of the porch? And the reason it looked so cluttered was because I didn't appreciate her storing her crap exotic plants and mountain bike birdhouses on my side....

Remember my side? She warned me that it would take a while to situate and organize her stuff.

The picture says "my side after" because it was taken last year after I asked her to remove her stuff.

Well yeah, I guess it takes a while to straighten up. She put garland similar to mine up because she wanted out sides to match. uh .....O.K.A.Y.

Ok, good job remembering! That's what I love about you.

We're not done yet....


Remember when I stayed in this Princess room last summer?

Remember how I not only felt like a Princess....

but I actually looked like one too?


Well, I have to visit them again. I'm not staying overnight. Gary sounded disappointed. Who's Gary?

Remember? He was my personal man in waiting when I stayed in the Princess room.

OK, how many got all the "Remembers" right?

* Gift suggestion #7 has been posted! Check it out because you have less than three weeks until Christmas.

PORCH SAGA II

It seems like it was just yesterday when I moved into this loony bin compound. Let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we?

Do you remember when I posted about my porch, and my neighbor from hell? And how bad I felt when I decided to tell her I didn't want her crap lovely plants on my side? And remember how indignant surprised she was that even though I thought her plants were beautiful, I was allergic to all of them? That was in March.

This is what her side looked like then.........

Fast forward to today.....

Now, it's her side, and God love her if she can cram one more spider plant or creeping charlie on there...but her plants are infringing on my carbon footprint!

There was one thing I didn't document back in March. That was because I had no idea there was a sleeping, giant, PURPLE KILLER PLANT lurking underground! But take my word, this plant sprung up from nowhere and started choking my tiny under-nourished hedge. My hedge is the only friggin thing I want bordering my side of the dinking porch. I want it to grow higher, I want to keep it neatly trimmed and happy.

But this purple stuff, to the delight of my neighbor, flourished! My hedge cried out for help. Yesterday, I mentioned to my neighbor in passing, that I was going to remove the purple stuff, but since I knew she had planted it, I wanted to let her take it out if she wanted to plant it somewhere on the compound else. She thanked me and said she didn't really want it, but I could take it out if I wanted to. I was surprised that she seemed so pleasant. Thank you nice neighbor!

GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE! I love opening my bedroom curtains and blinds in the morning!
Since my bedroom faces the east, I don't pull the blinds up until around ten.
Holy mother of all things sacred!

My neighbor must have worked all night gotten up at the crack of dawn to dig this stuff out!

This is the view from my car.

I guess she's leaving it there until the landscapers come tomorrow. Yeah, it's not their job so I will probably pick it up and take it to the dumpster.

But readers? One thing never changes...My side is still plain and bare. This has to drive my neighbor crazy.

A LITTLE SOMETHIN FOR YOU,
A LITTLE SOMETHIN FOR YOU...
and a dash of this and that

I wanted to share a bit of my environment with y'all. You know, show you a bit of the compound....a little at a time. I fear causing a wild stampede, and then on the other hand, I don't want any of you laying pity on me. This could go either way. So we'll start out easy. You've all seen my aqua aerobics with all the goof balls. but here is a picture of the pool without all the riff raff....and clean!

Here is another shot at sunset taken from Grandma J's back patio...or porch, depending on your preference.

And because some of you like to show off your sunsets over the Chesapeake Bay, as you run naked though the woods gaze at the fiddler craps.... here is a random sunset shot from my back porch...sorry about the roof tops and such.

Next I'd like to throw a couple crumbs to my fellow Big Brother fans. Besides the evicted house guests archived at the bottom of the right hand column, I like to document the HOH for you and the nominees with a poll. Because the show is on three nights a week, and I see it three hours before the West Coast fans, I can't post at a decent hour without missing BBAD. Which is on every night for three hours. UNCENSORED.

Here are a few personal takes on the game so far. I started out not liking funky Renny with all her different hats and wigs and her Nawlins accent, that sounds like a funky Brooklyn accent.

But she grows on you. she's 53 and very cool. Not only does she cook and clean (which is a safety net older house guests immediately latch on to)but she's funny...very funny. And she's smart. She's Harvard educated and an ex Saints cheerleader thingy girl. In other words, I like her. she has grown on me and and her too.
Jerry gets on my nerves because he tries to parent everyone. He gives the girls a kiss good night, and it's starting to wear thin.

Keesha, the new HOH reminds me of Daniel from BB8. She's whiny and two-faced. I don't care for the other blond bimbo April the Ho either. Now that's not a personal opinion. There are several YouTubes out there of April and Ollie that rank right up there with hard porn. seriously. Ollie's parents aren't too happy, that's for sure.

Dude? Listen to your folks.

So there you have my take on a few house guests. My opinion might change. Right now if I had to pick a winner? Renny or Memphis. Who would you pick?

FRIDAY MATINEE
....has been temporarily canceled

I was having a hard time deciding which movie I wanted to see today. Nothing really reached out and grabbed me. I did see Iron Man on Mother's Day with my daughter and her family. Since it wasn't on my official Friday Matinee review schedule, I didn't rate it. But since you asked, I will tell you. I loved it! I don't think it can be cubby-holed into an age-appropriate category because we all loved it....all three generations and both genders.

So this morning I was all, should I go see something? A random pick? While I was pondering, I went to warm up my millionth cup of coffee. As I walked by the glass paneled door to my back porch, I peeked out the louvers on the mini-blinds to check on my bird parents-to be. I don't ever open the door because there are eggs in the nest and I don't want to rock the cradle so to speak. But I do chirp and whistle a bit when I peek out. They both look at me the whole time I'm making a fool of myself....but the thing is, they are getting used to me (as long as I stay on my side of the glass panes), and don't get all jittery. I look up at the nest, waiting for a sign that the chicks have hatched, and this is what I saw........
My heart leaped right out of my chest! What happen to the nest? Had the eggs hatched and the whole family flew the coop? That isn't the way it happens. They chirp loudly, the mom and dad take turns feeding them and helping them grow strong enough, then teach them to fly by yelling at them chirping loudly, "move, move...now flap those baby wings and fly". I glanced down through the louvers towards the concrete porch floor, only to see this........

I quickly got out of my nightgown, threw some clothes on and walked down to the office. You see, they have a whole set of policies about birds. I wasn't aware of them, no one told me about them. I found out after the fact. Back when my honeymooners where first building their nest, I told you how excited I was, about the feeder and seed I bought, how I had every bird north of the Rio Grande on my porch..... except the two that lived there, because I had scared them away, you remember? That's when I found out about the policy about discouraging birds to nest on the property. But they came back, and finished their nest.

Back to today...So I expressed my rage to the leasing manager because I suspected fowl play (no pun intended). She explained that the maintenance men routinely try to prevent nesting by destroying them before the birds lay any eggs. Well, we had eggs! I asked her if someone could come over and clean up the mess. She said she would send someone over. The same guy who knocked the nest down.

Now it looks like mommy bird is back.....
I wish I could read her mind. I will feel much better if I see her mate back with her.....soon, so maybe they can start over. If it's not too late. Oh, and yes....I let the manager know that in the event they rebuild their nest, I will....um yeah, well let's just say, she got the message.

THEY'RE BACK!

....and I think they forgive me because I can feel the love.

Remember a while back I discovered two birds falling in love and building a nest on my back porch? Then I ran out and bought them a bird feeder and lots of bird feed? And remember how I climbed up on a ladder to hang the feeder..even though they were dive bombing me? And I waved a WalMart bag around, flailing from the top of the ladder in self defense?

Remember how I waited and waited for them to come back around to thank me to eat and continue with their family planning? And, they never came back? Instead I had every bird East of El Paso in the hood swarming and pooping on my porch. Once the feeder was empty...I decided to leave it empty.

I was sad. I was sadder than sad.

Then this morning, I went out on my porch to get my broom so I could ride it to WalMart sweep up the kitchen...because I am very energetic when it comes to cleaning.........ZZZZOOOOOOOMMMMMM. I was being dive bombed! Unfortunately I had to duck back inside and forget about the broom.

I looked out, and this is what I saw!
Was it one of my love birds? The feeder was empty, not one speck of bird food and every bird for miles knew it. So, I open the door and right away, this bird let's me know that I'm not sweeping my kitchen any time soon welcome out on the porch. No way Jose! It's OK....I can dry mop the floor instead of sweeping. But there is a bigger issue...

I look up in the corner and the deserted nest is much bigger and has an occupant.
Yes, they are back and I am happy!

I think the bird in the nest is the Daddy bird because he is so colorful. The one on guard duty is not so much. It also appears as though the one in the nest is feeding babies...its head keeps bobbing up and down.

I can't see or hear any babies....If I could open the door maybe I could hear something, but the other bird means business and I don't want to scare them away again.

It warms my heart to know that they feel safe and at home on my porch. So I am satisfied knowing they came back, and I am anxiously waiting to see the peeps! If all goes well, they will be back next year because that's how birds roll....

The Porch Saga


When I was getting ready to retire, I chose to leave California and move to Central Texas. My main reason was economical. My children reside in CA, CO, and Texas...with a granddaughter who spends the majority of the year in FL. Living in Texas was way cheaper and allowed me to travel more to visit and spread the love.

Back in California, every single town had complexes for seniors 55+. Really and truly. There are condos, apartments full service, gated communities....some have golf courses. But, there are plenty of options. Here in Central Texas there are few. There is only one within 40 miles of my daughter in an area with a population of over 150,000. There are several down the highway but the whole purpose of moving here was to be close to one of my children and their family. So I put my name on "the waiting list" and wait.

Fast forward ten months and I'm finally moving into my own little apartment.
My first day in my new place I told the gal in the office that the old tenant left some hanging plants, ceramic animals and wind chimes. She told me my neighbor put them there for "me" to enjoy. She loves decorating the exterior and the old neighbor pretty much let her. I asked for them to be removed.

This is my side once the stuff is removed.
This is my neighbors side....and this is probably more pleasing to a whole lot of folks. I don't make an issue about the hanging stuff on my part of the wall because I don't want to get off on the wrong foot now, do I? We aren't allowed to have BBQs on our porches.
So this is the front. We are the only ones with a friggin archway with dead stuff on it. I know...right about now you are sooo glad I don't live anywhere near you. I guess it wouldn't be as bad if the archway was painted to match the trim and those pots weren't tipping over and there weren't so many flamingos, frogs and squirrels. Have you figured out that I like things orderly and neat? I'm not totally mean because all the stuff you see out front, I let go because it's really not on my porch.
This oil derrick has "classy" written all over it, doesn't it?

And this? It's across the walkway next to the laundry room. The landscapers pointed it out to me. They know her gardens by her "signature" fencing. Evidently she has several throughout the complex. I just wanted to give you all an idea of how this woman likes to spread out. God love her, she really loves gardening!

So this is what I ended up with. I know, it really needs plants but there is no way I'm going there. It's bad enough she sweeps my side everyday. If I had plants she'd be tending to them. The fact that I like to go out of town, and I have three trips on my agenda, I don't want my neighbor stepping in.....to help.

Just a bit of trivia for all you folks who don't live in Texas. Everyone has a Lone Star somewhere on their property or vehicle..... Texans love Texas...I really admire that about them. Cortney, do you have one? Briana? Veronica?

So, there you have it. Of course my neighbor isn't too thrilled with me and I feel bad. Another gal moved across the way on the same day I did. They have become good friends and for that I'm happy.

Gotta Get 'er Done...

I recently moved for the second time in ten months. My first move was my huge retirement, flee the state, then veg move. I arrived in Texas the day before Easter, 2007. Settled in at my daughter's home with the intent of checking out the area for a place of my own. So fast forward ten months to February 2008 and I finally GET OUT and into my own place. My daughter and her family were sad to hear that I was moving out. My son-in-law's head hurt so bad that he was doing cartwheels to ease the pain.

Now that I've been in Texas for two Easters, I find myself with "stuff" that has to get done. This isn't exactly stuff like laundry, making the bed, doing the dishes kind of stuff. For the most part, this is the kind of stuff I didn't want to do in retirement. Paperwork stuff. Red tape stuff......IRS stuff. The stark reality is, you can never simplify your life.....never.

Today is the day I make some appointments and resolve some issues. Tomorrow is the day I travel 60 miles to the IRS as a walk-in...to resolve issues with my 2005 taxes....so I can do my 2006 taxes...then my 2007 taxes. Huh?? Why aren't I in leavenworth breaking rocks in the hot son? Ummm it's a long story over a couple of bucks...REALLY A COUPLE OF BUCKS!! This issue was the first thing I attemped to resolve my first week in Texas....in April 2007. Details to follow when I have the next and final chapter to this saga upon my return from the IRS.

A few of the other issues have to do with medical insurance (oh fun), second attempt at getting my address changed with various agencies/companies. Then I will pay a bill or two.

The icing on the cake is shopping for a little bit of patio furniture. I have a dinky front porch and if I don't put something out there my neighbor, whose porch connects to mine...will decide to fill in the emptiness...AGAIN! I won't be getting anything fancy...probably cheap plastic stuff because it's not as if I will ever sit out on my porch...I just want to mark my territory once and for all. I will post pictures of the before and after because this is such a big project..all 10x10 feet. I will also post my neighbors side and the surrounding common areas that she has homesteaded with a birdbath, animals and an oil derrick...of all things.

So, I'm off for now...the sun is shining and the birds are singing....I love to shop.