Horatio

Your city did a good job of leaving the debris where only the residents would see it. For passersby, it looks great. We have those same debris piles. But, you never see any trucks. It seems like all of the trucks in our area, must be down in the Keys. They certainly are not here. As for the car, I still can not believe that it did not hit the car anywhere. That is definitely divine intervention. If I was teething, I most likely would be whiny, clingy and crabby times ten. Can you use any products like Orajel for babies? I know it works wonders for adults, but I have no idea if it could be used for a child or a baby. Poor little girl, that must be painful for her. Is it not totally the greatest, when you see your little girl with all these great personality traits, such as a good sense of humour? Dancing to music, is fun, and I can only imagine what is going on in her little mind, when she feels that she has to move to the music. Hugs... those are amazing. I am happy that she is hugging you both all the time. That is wonderful to hear. Well, I hope the teething phase passes quickly. So, you had better get a little quicker at moving, as she will soon outrun you.

Your town looked really good. Down in our town, we have lots and lots of branches and trees down. Of course, the trees have been cut up into little bits, but the city is just not picking up the yard waste debris. Hopefully, soon it will be all removed. My backyard has a huge pile of debris. Last night, I heard a loud noise. I was not going outside to see what the noise was, so I decided that I would wait until this morning to see. The biggest branch, about twenty feet long, landed just inches from the car. PHEW!!! I was stunned that it did not hit the car. The branch surrounded the front and side of the car. Any news on that little daughter of yours? What antics is she up to now? I hope that you are enjoying your time home with MacKenzie. It is time for me to get back to work on the yard. At least one more hour before the light disappears.

Topazia... I was in Ocala this morning. Did you see me waving to you and MacKenzie?

It looks like Hurricane Marie has done enough damage in the islands, and now she will be out in the Atlantic where she can not do anymore damage. MacKenzie sounds just like her mother. LOL!!! She will write her first novel before she is three. Yes, I am happy that Irma left all of our trees upright. As soon as we have all of the necessities, power, internet and telephones, then we will be back to normal. Hot water is always a must, and soon, we plan on completing the installation of a whole house generator. That will be very, very nice. Hot water for showers, before, during and after the hurricanes. The past few days, I have been going to the Memphis Botanical Gardens and taking pictures. Hopefully, I have mastered the water lilies. Each and every day, they are different. So, if you do not get a good picture one day, that flower might just be totally gone the next day. Today there were about seven or so yellow water lilies in this one group. This was quite beautiful, but also hard to photograph.

Well, here comes Hurricane Marie. The big question is... will the hurricane traverse Florida???

Well, here comes Hurricane Marie. The big question is... will the hurricane traverse Florida???

We are very happy that all of our trees remained standing. This made us so very happy. The house also made it through the hurricane without any major problems. Phew! We just had our power restored. That is wonderful news. I love hot showers, and no mosquitoes. How is everything doing? I hope everyone is well.

I have no idea. She quite likes them, though, which makes me laugh. She's such a trip! Irma did not live up to her hype. We didn't even lose power! Just a few flickers. We found some canned foods, and they did have water when we finally went shopping! We got two more cases. And we also got snack cakes because snack cakes. Most of the county was out of power, with the apparent exception of my neighborhood, but nobody was hurt and there was very little damage. And they've gotten half the county turned back on now. But now Sean is being paid to stay home because, I'm assuming, his work is still out of power. He's gotten notices for two days now that the next day they're closed. At least he's being paid. Yay five day vacation...too bad we have no money or gas to enjoy it (because payday is Friday and NO GAS) Hope your place wasn't too damaged. I'm glad you were able to leave! I know it was a mess trying to escape. WHOAAAAA!!! You are so fortunate. We still do not have power. I am happy to hear that you were prepared, just in case. Bottled water is always good to have, and you will go through that fast. Being paid to stay home is a terrific situation. In the east coast area, no power, no gas, there is a must boil all water warning, and if you do find a store open, it does not have coffee. Thank goodness for bottled water. Oh yes, that is always the way it is. When you have money, you do not have time off, when you have time off, you have no money. Except in your case, you have the time and the paycheck is here, but there is no gas. Sometimes you can never win. Perhaps you should enjoy your home time off, and pretend you are somewhere else. As for our area, I am so happy that all of our trees remained standing. I would not have cared if the house was destroyed, as long as the trees were standing. For Irma, we were awarded both. The neighbor's fence came down and deposited boards all over our property. Plus, oddly, there are the four by fours, with a big ball of concrete on the bottom, and those came out as well. Those I believe, were helped out, but some human intervention. Oh well. MacKenzie is such a cutie. You have to laugh at her passion for necks. That is quite entertaining.

By the way, MacKenzie is gorgeous!!! I just love those eyes. WOW!!!

You know best what works for you with your job. I am happy that you and MacKenzie are having a great time together. Where did MacKenzie develop a passion for the necks of little boys? LOL!!! How wonderful that her personality is shining through with other people, children and babies. As for Hurricane Irma, hopefully you are freezing the chicken. This way, if the power goes out, it will take a great deal longer for the meat to go bad. Was Sean able to purchase water? Any food that does not require refrigeration, is a good one to keep. Tuna fish in a can or pouch is a great source of protein. Peanut butter and jelly are also good items to have on hand. Were you able to get your grill back from your friend's house? I hope so. Do you have charcoal for the grill? We can only wait and see the route the storm takes. If it goes right over the center of the state, you should be fine. You are in the middle of the state. The right side of the hurricane track, is usually the side where the winds are the strongest. That means our house will be in the target zone. All that I am praying for, is that all of our trees stay standing. The house can be repaired. The two hundred year old trees, can not be replaced in our lifetime. If all of our trees remain standing, I will be very happy. We, and my parents, all left the state. Friends of ours, are remaining, but we decided not to stay, as we felt that we might me on the worst side of the storm. Please stay in touch. If you need my phone number, I will send it to you privately. This way you can be in touch over the phone lines. Take care, Horatio

Happy Tuesday to everybody. Well, the question for this week, will Irma visit Florida? I am hoping that no, Irma will not, but, after all, it is weather. So, we will be waiting to see what happens. As for other news, how was the extra day off? I planted a garden for my neighbor. She was very happy with the results, and today, I will be finishing the job with a holly bush. Pictures will arrive after the job is completed.

Happy Labour Day!!! This weekend has come so quickly, which means that summer in nearly over. Everybody, enjoy yourselves on this three day weekend.

Oh my goodness, it has been a year already??? I hope you read this before you make a decision. My suggestion, is to not quit your job just because your husband has gotten a job. Your new manager has given you exactly what you asked for, so my suggestion, is to keep the job, save the money, in the event you have a problem in the future. The eclipse, I like Sean's description. His description made me smile. Here you go...

Did everyone enjoy the total eclipse of the sun? What a magnificent sight. I traveled to Oregon, to view the eclipse. How magnificent, but how fast it went by. The next total solar eclipse is in the year 2024. Get ready!!!

LOL!!! Blue pizzas??? And you did not post any pictures? I would have loved to see those blue pizzas. I was not trying to be hard on the pizza girl, my apologies if it came out that way. But, I will add, she has not improved any. LOL!!! Ouch! I am sorry that you are going through such a hard time with your job. There must be something good in the future. I do know of an online option, but I know nothing about the actual job, only that I have a friend who is a single mother doing it as her sole source of income. She writes papers for companies that sell them. Perhaps you could check those companies out and see if this would work for you. Crawling and walking by holding your hands... excellent. MacKenzie is well on her way to running a marathon. LOL!!! I like that she is talking. That is wonderful. She is also getting big. WOW!!! Herman is up and wanting to play, so I need to run. Take care and I will post images of my trip later.

Tomorrow is the day that I head to Yosemite. I am looking forward to this trip. The best news of all, is that the short cut via Tioga Pass, is now open and that cuts off almost three hours of driving. Whoo Hoo!!!

Wonderful news as I head out to Yosemite to photograph the Milky Way. Let us hope it we can capture the galactic center of the Milky Way.

Meet Herman...

Did everyone have a great Fourth of July? It was very wet here in Memphis, but they managed to get the fireworks display before more rain came. The fireworks were beautiful.

Fireworks tonight! For all those people with pets, would you please make sure that your pets stay at home and feel secure during the fireworks? As you know, the loud bangs, scare many pets, and it is not wise to take them to parks or anywhere else where fireworks are being displayed. Other than that, I hope that you all have a great day today! Tomorrow is the Fourth of July!!!

Happy Friday!!! The weekend is almost here, with Fourth of July just around the corner. Whoo Hoo!!!

Herman... is turning from black to grey. He is such a handsome little guy. He always tries to eat the iPhone when I am taking pictures, and he will never stay still, even for a quick click of the camera. But... soon, I will have some images to post.

Happy Monday everybody! We escaped the weather from Cindy with only one day of heavy rain. That was a relief. The great news is that the trees remained standing.

Good morning. Lots and lots of rain here, but for our friends out west, they are having big problems with the high heat and dry conditions.

Here comes Cindy!!! In Memphis, we are waiting for all the rain to arrive. Hopefully, we will not lose too many trees.