Best friend of horatio club!

[- Kat -]

MacKenzie is more and more lovely with each photo you post~ I remember my friend had a little tent thing that we LOVED when we were kids, I'm sure she's having a great time with hers as well!

Thank you both for your kind words. Seeing the improvement with each lesson is a great motivator in making me want to go further and further with photography, and it's definitely something I can see myself doing long into the future. I'm excited to see where else my lessons and ideas take me!

I hope things stay calm for you in Florida. Hurricanes always sounded terrifying to me. Probably because I'm used to tornadoes, where there's much less water XD Being landlocked for all my life has given me somewhat of a phobia of large bodies of water.

One of my coworkers is on vacation for 3 weeks, and it's already gotten pretty hectic in the office. My coworkers a great but we could use fewer customers! XD

[Horatio]

I agree with you, - Kat -, MacKenzie is getting more beautiful every day.

Hearing that you are considering keeping photography in your life, into the future, makes me smile.  It is a great to hear that you will have a terrific hobby or perhaps business in your future.

LOL!!!  Hurricanes sounded terrifying???  Tornadoes are so much more terrifying!  The hurricane is slow and you can get out of the way.  A tornado forces the person to go into a spider filled storm shelter.  I am more terrified of spiders.  So, now we learn something about you, that you have a somewhat phobia of large bodies of water.  LOL!!!  

Summer is when almost everyone wants to take their time away from work.  The problem is that then, life becomes stressful and hectic.  I hope you can make it through this with your sanity.

[- Kat -]

This is the difference between the coasts and the midwest. All of my friends in areas like Florida never really care that a hurricane is coming unless it's one of the major ones. I was talking to some friends tonight and they said their biggest concern is if they lose wifi XD But hurricanes seem like a big deal to us! Meanwhile, coast people are afraid of tornadoes while those of us that live in Tornado Alley will stand outside and watch them roll into town.

You now all know about my mistrust of open ocean. Do with that what you will.

This week is doing its best to drive us all crazy, but at least tomorrow should calm down, and then it's a long weekend! I think these past few days have been extra bad because everyone is trying to get stuff done before the holiday.

[Horatio]

Well, here comes Hurricane Dorian, a category five.  Yes, this is going to be a big one, headed directly for our house.  If this storm keeps heading towards our house, if you thought last week was bad, this week will be worse.  Ha, ha, ha... I am just giving you some warning.

Thinking about the open ocean, I think you have a healthy respect.  The ocean is a very powerful force of nature and it cannot be tamed.  It must be respected.  I watch people go out into the ocean three or more miles offshore, without any life saving equipment or other Coast Guard required supplies, and before they head out, they do not even check the weather.  In fact, I know of two guys who go three miles offshore in kayaks.  That is really not smart.  I think you are good with your respect of the ocean.

Would you promise me one thing?  If a tornado is coming, would you please head into the storm shelter?

[- Kat -]

I'm sending good vibes your way! I hope you come out on the other side of Dorian safely

I can never understand people who do stuff like that. I think I would start to panic as soon as I couldn't see the shore to begin with, much less knowing I didn't have any kind of safety equipment.

Any time there is a storm bad enough for us to get warning, my family and everyone we know definitely head to shelter. We might watch the storm come in and go out but when it's actually on top of us we stay safe, and we keep the weather radio/channel on the whole time.

[Horatio]

Thank you for your good vibes our way.  I did not head to Florida before the storm, but I might be heading there today, depending on the word I receive from the guys watching my house.  The house can be repaired, it is the trees that I worry about.  The house can be rebuilt in months the trees take hundreds of years.

Like you, I can never understand why people would go out on the water with no safety gear.  Then they are lost or stranded somewhere in the middle of the Gulf Stream, which is very scary.  I have done some search and rescue in the waters between Florida and the Bahamas.  You have a hard time seeing an eighty foot boat.  It is almost impossible to see a fifteen foot skiff, a kayak would be like spotting a little microdot.

Thank you for telling me that you and your family have been cautious.  Tornadoes seem very fast moving with not lots of time to watch.  During a hurricane, there are always those people who want to be out in a storm, looking.  They do not realise that they can be thrown around in the wind.

On the other side of the planet, New Zealand just experienced two earthquakes.  One earthquake, followed by one aftershock.  I hope everyone there is okay.

[Topazia]

I wasn't worried about Dorian. I'm sad that some people died and so many in the Bahamas lost their homes, but I'm thankful it collapsed before it got to Florida. I figured it would. The reason I'm not afraid of hurricanes is that I have a week to prepare for it. I have time to batten the hatches, pack extra food, etc. I don't have time for that with a tornado, or an earthquake. I don't like the cold, so Florida is the only place I'd really want to live based on those criteria. And honestly, our regular summer rain is so constant, anything under Cat 3 is little more intense than that so who the heck cares? If a Cat 4 or 5 actually is coming, I'll take more precautions. This time around, I just bought a case of water, one I would have bought anyway.

[Horatio]

LOL!!!  You also do not live on the coast where there is a mandatory evacuation order.  We were fortunate that a high pressure front parked itself along the coast and pushed the low offshore.  Those of us along the coast, were a bit worried because using the original models, where the front was further inland, the path would have meant that the worst part of the hurricane, the northwest corner outside the eye, would have been directly overhead our area.  Has your area ever seen a really strong hurricane?  My recollection was that the hurricanes downgraded once they came ashore.  

[Horatio]

Topazia, what is the elevation in your city?

[Topazia]

I'm not sure, you could check Gainesville and get a rough estimate. That's the nearest large city to me. We were without power for several weeks in 2005 when we had five hurricanes in a month, and there was flooding all over town, and trees falling down across a bunch of roads. It depends on the strength when it hits landfall, as far as intensity. If it's a big enough storm it doesn't even have to make landfall to affect us. Gaston saw half my city without power for a week two years ago. 

[- Kat -]

One of my coworkers has family in the Bahamas and told us about how bad it was there. It's terrible, my heart goes out to everyone there. I'm glad it wasn't able to reach Florida and cause more destruction.

For the record, we have always liked to watch storm clouds and the rain come in, but if there is any chance of a tornado, we wait the storm out in shelter. I may be very midwestern but not even I am the kind of person who can stand outside and watch the funnel touch down.

I hadn't heard about the NZ earthquakes, I have friends down there but they didn't say anything. I'll have to check in and make sure everyone is okay! I remember a while ago, a friend of mine in Australia had some earthquakes and really bad flooding in her town, it was really scary.

[Horatio]

Topazia, it always makes me wonder why the power companies do not begin a process of placing the power lines underground.  Every year the power companies spend millions and so many people are without power, it would only make sense just to relocate the power lines.  I had no idea that you were without power for so long and had flooding.  That is incredible.  We worry about the storm surge along the coast.

- Kat -, I am sorry to hear about your colleague's family in the Bahamas.  I hope that they are not in Marsh Harbour.  The winds and storm surge did so much destruction.  I am waiting for word from my Bahamian friends.  They live in the Abaco's, Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay, and Freeport, Grand Bahama.  

Phew!  I am happy to hear you are not one of those people who stand outside and watch the tornado touchdown.  

The earthquakes are pretty scary.  I hope that your friends were far away from the epicentre.  

[- Kat -]

NZ friends are safe, they are on the other side of the country so they didn't really feel it.

The AC in my car and my house are both broken x.x Fall needs to hurry up and cool down.

[Horatio]

Oh no!!!  I know that you are not a fan of hot weather, so you must be very uncomfortable.  That was the only problem when we lost electricity during and after a hurricane... no air conditioning.  This meant that you had to keep your windows open.  With the windows open the mosquitoes would eat you alive.  Somehow, they managed to squeeze through the screens to get inside.  You are waiting for fall to cool down, and I am waiting for the beginning of winter to have an end to the hurricane season.

Great news about your New Zealand friends.  Knowing that they are safe and sound is a relief.  

Your work anniversary is approaching.  Can you believe another year has passed?  It sounds so weird to sound like your parents, but time is flying by.  Soon, it will be peak for you with the holiday rush of everyone sending all of their packages.  It seems that as soon as you get past one peak, another one is approaching.  

 

[- Kat -]

The house AC is fixed! Still no AC in the car, though. I managed to get bitten a bunch by mosquitoes while the AC was down so I feel your pain x.x We've also had a huuuuge number of crickets this year for some reason. I usually don't really care either way about crickets, but there are so many in the house and in the building at work, and they die all over the place and spend all night screaming, so I'm ready for winter to take them out too.

I was just talking with a coworker about that today! 4 years seems like such a short time and a long time at the same time. We are FINALLY getting the last office position filled next week, so hopefully we'll be ready when peak hits. To be honest, I know my coworkers can handle it. It's management I don't have a lot of faith in.

I am getting more and more excited for my New Zealand trip as it approaches! I still have so much to do to get ready but I also want to leave tomorrow

[Horatio]

Avon Skin So Soft, the creme version, keeps mosquitos away, while making your skin feel wonderful..  I now carry a tube everywhere I go.  Yes, crickets can be quite invasive at times.  Sometimes I wonder what brings the hordes of crickets or locusts, but they sure do invade the place when they arrive.  The little carcasses are all over the place.  In high up places that you would never expect.  On top of cabinets or other odd places.

You will have completed four years and starting on the fifth year.  Congratulations!!!  Your feelings are the same all over the world.  Employees will give their best, but it is management that leaves everyone wondering.  The problem as I see it, is that a management position is a goal for some people and once they get there, they forget where they came from.

Your New Zealand trip will be here before you know it, and you will be back at work, even faster.  I am looking forward to hearing all about your exciting trip.

[- Kat -]

I remember hearing that about Skin So Soft, now that you mention it. I wonder if mom still has some...

A coworker is moving and unfortunately his new apartment does not allow pets, and he has two leopard geckos. He and I have talked in the past about how I loved keeping leopard geckos for my school and recently babysitting one for a friend while they were out of town, so he said he would give me the geckos and all of his supplies for them for free since he knows I have experience and will take good care of them. I'm very excited!

I'm gonna take so many pictures in NZ. Millions.

[Horatio]

Oh my goodness!  You are going to be the proud parent of two leopard geckos?  That sounds incredible!  I am so excited for you.  Who will take care of them when you are in New Zealand?  Please send photographs of your new family members when they arrive.

Yes, if you mother has some Skin So Soft, you need to put a container in your suitcase.  The mosquitoes are monstrous in New Zealand.  I am looking forward to seeing all of your photographs from your trip!

On a weather related thought, we are very fortunate that the latest hurricane decided to head away from Florida.  Hopefully, all the rest of the storms for this year will stay offshore.  

[- Kat -]

I will! Two boys, and they're still pretty young so I should have them for a good long time. I'll take lots of pictures once I get them! I will be picking them up next Sunday.

I'll definitely need to pack some, then. And lots of sunscreen.

I'm glad you guys are safe, and I hope nothing else comes for you this year. Or any other year, for that matter.

[Horatio]

WOW!  I am happy to hear that the leopard geckos are young.  Fantastic!  How long do they live?  I have a very large terrarium that Haku lives in.  It is a reptile cage.  For Haku, it is three feet long by two feet deep and is eighteen inches high.  Then I have a tube that runs from the bottom of the glass terrarium, through the screen lid and into a series of other tubes.  This way Haku can climb from his cage through a series of tubes into his other cage.  He loves his palace.

Thank you for your good wishes.  It is time for us to move out of Florida and let someone else deal with hurricanes.

[- Kat -]

As pets, male leopard geckos usually live about 10 years but some get as old as 20. These guys are just under a year so I'll have plenty of time with them. And to answer your earlier question, my brother loves lizards so he will likely help out while I'm on my trip, though mom and dad both say they'll help out as well.

I always love your hamster set-ups. It's so cool how you make these hammy palaces for your friends! I want to be able to do something like that some day.

Storms coming this weekend. Hopefully it breaks this humidity, I hate it x__x

[Horatio]

With cold weather coming, I know you are happy.  How long is the season where you have unbearable humidity?

I am happy to hear that your brother will be taking care of your new family members.  With you parents as back-up care givers, the geckos will be very happy.  

My hamster set-ups can get pretty wild.  There is never any end to my creativity.  Sometimes I think that the hamsters do not like their weekly hamster cage cleaning.  I change around things and hide things, so make it more interesting.  There was one hamster that knew the tubes were his, but when I would change around the path, he would act like he had never seen the tubes before.  All the different personalities are such fun.  

I decided to take a few courses and this one online course has deadlines where your assignments are due at 18H00.  That is an awful time.  I really like when the assignments are due by 23H59.  That makes life so much easier.  Tonight, I have another paper due and I have been working on it all week.  It seems that I had all the time in the world, until last night.  Now I realise that I am pressed for time.  

[- Kat -]

In theory, it should be over now. I'm hoping by October it stops climbing into the upper 80s x.x

I remember when I had Sasha and then Penny, any time I cleaned their tank, I liked to change things around and give them something new to do for a while. The only thing I'd leave the same was their bathroom. For both of them, the first thing they'd do when I put them back in is run into their potty and wonder who had stolen all their poop.

I hate weird deadlines like that, too! I always forget the time it's due when they do that. Why does it matter that the assignment is turned in by 6PM that day? As long as it's ON that day, shouldn't that be enough?

If you don't mind my asking, what is the class you're taking?

[Horatio]

Haku always gets mad at me when I clean his home.  You would think that he would have figured it out by now as it occurs every weekend.  I hide piles of pine nuts and sunflower seeds and other treats.  I check to see if he discovered them and find that the he has gotten into the sunflower seeds and left a pile of shells, or that all the pine nuts are gone.  But, he always covers over the piles as if he had not been there.

We are getting snow predicted for this higher altitudes.  You would love the colder weather.  I do not mind the snow as it falls and by noon the next day, it has pretty much melted off of the streets.  So, at least on the main roads is not too bad.

The course is Introduction to Diversity.  It is a required course for my degree.  This week two assignments are due.  The first is a paper and the second is a Keynote or power point.  I am attempting to get the paper accomplished first and then the Keynote presentation.  Next semester I plan on taking Introduction to Photography and Horseback Riding.  The photography course should be fun, but I am not so certain about the Horseback Riding.  I ride using an English saddle.  The Western saddle is not something I am accustomed to.  It also weighs about one hundred pounds.  At least I will gain some weight training with that course.  My thinking was to be able to ride into areas with my camera to take some photographs.  It really sounds like a dream.

[- Kat -]

Sasha and Penny would do that too, only they'd gather up what I stashed for them and then I'd find that they moved it to another stash while I was cleaning.

Those all sound like fun classes to me I took a class in high school called Cross-Cultural Connections that would talk about a culture and cover its basic info and then talk about how it's represented in America and how the two cultures combine. And then of course photography and horseback riding sound great! I've only been horseback riding once but I loved it.

The idea of a little blonde hamster wearing a cowboy hat standing on a saddle with his little paw on the shudder button of a camera while his horse paws the ground patiently....it is perfect.

[Horatio]

Sasha and Penny really sent the same message, we do not like where you put our food treasures.  We will put them in the place we want them.  LOL.  Haku and I play this little game.  To get into the ball or not.  There are days when he will hop into the ball without any hesitation.  Then there are the days that he will smell the ball as if he had no idea of what it is.  He will stand up, smell all around the entrance, walk around the entire ball a few times, run around his tank and come back to the ball and repeat the actions.  Then he will head to his food dish and ignore the fact that this ball is in his tank.  We always give him the option of what he would like to do.  I introduce the ball a few times to see if he changes his mind.  He usually never does.  

The class is interesting.  But, I see that no one really speaks their mind as they do not want a bad grade.  What I read in the discussion group is just feel good information.  It would be better if people felt the liberty to say what they really think.  I would enjoy hearing what people think about their religion or culture, or their perceptions of the religion or culture of other people.  Sometimes people have misconceptions, and to talk about these things is how we learn.

Horseback riding... yes, I have a special little saddle that is designed just for hamsters.  My cowboy boots are a little heavy to wear on my back paws, and the cowboy hat is a little large, but I will manage.  I should create a little tripod that could rest on the saddle.  That will be a fun way to earn required credits in elective courses.  

 

[- Kat -]

Mine would do that too! sometimes it was like they couldn't wait for ball time, and sometimes it was a strange and scary monster that was obviously there to eat them.

The leopard geckos are here! I tried to take some pictures but they are both still staying in their hides so you can't really see anything. Once they are feeling more adventurous, I'll definitely share pics! Their names are Leo and Lagg.

I can see how that would be frustrating. On one hand, people don't want to step on any toes, and especially in a school setting it can be easier to just smile and nod and pass the class. But that won't really open up real discussion or change minds for the better. Not to sound like an old person but I think the internet has created a strong mindset where the second someone says something you disagree with, you should write that person off as evil and stupid forever. There's a lot to unpack about the whole idea but I see it a lot because it's especially prevalent in my generation.

What a lovely scene you describe! I want to draw it, I hope I do it justice.

[Horatio]

Leo and Lagg will need a bit of time to become accustomed to the new smells and sounds of their new home.  When they feel comfortable, they will start spending more time outside of their little homes.  We can wait for those pictures.

This week, I received my grade from my paper from last week.  Out of a score of ten, I was docked two points because I did not include something that the professor wanted.  The problem is that she used the word 'could' instead of must.  So, I decided not to let this one slide.  I wrote her a reply comment to her comment on my paper.  My comment stated that she needs to say exactly what she wants, not make it is nebulous.  Of course, she has not responded.  The point that I must consider is that English is not her first language, but that is no excuse.  We will see what happens.

You are so right.  The internet is a big problem.  When people are able to hide behind an anonymous username, then this causes problems.  People will say mean, aggressive and nasty things that they would not normally say, if they were required to write their real names.  I have even witnessed adults attacking people on a message board, and I know for certain that they would never say those things face-to-face. Yes, I totally agree, that a real discussion, and learning, occur when you hear both sides of a subject.  In this class, I have views that I would never say, because I do not believe that they would be received as a discussion.  My belief is that in various locations around the world, women are treated horribly.  Young girls are still not permitted to receive an education.  They are forced into marriage at ages as young as twelve, and are forced to do whatever the man of the house wants.  That is very scary.  If I were to bring this up, I am afraid that it would not lead to an educated discussion.  In addition to the internet, I see a problem with how young people were brought up.  Some parents never wanted their children to experience anything that would hurt their child's feelings, or upset their child.  Instead of teaching their child that not everyone agrees with everyone else, that some people like blue and some people like red, the children were taught that it had to be their way and anything they did that was wrong, they were not going to be held accountable.  Whatever happened to removing yourself from a situation you do not feel comfortable in?  The incident that I am speaking of, is where six police officers in a Starbucks were asked to leave, because one person felt uncomfortable.  If I felt uncomfortable, I would have left.  Never would I have approached the management and asked them to remove someone else.  In this case, I found the actions of the management of Starbucks, revolting.  The management of Starbucks asked the six police officers to leave.  They should have asked that one person, who complained, to leave.  I will never walk into a Starbucks, or any of their related companies, ever again.  Starbucks does not deserve my business.  Enough of my rant.

You will definitely draw a perfect scene.  We are waiting for the finished product.

[- Kat -]

They are slowly but surely getting more comfortable in their new home. Still a bit antsy when I approach, but when I come by I'll see them hanging around outside instead of always being in their hides. Pictures soon! They have such lovely colors.

I'm glad you said something to the teacher. If there was a miscommunication, intentional or not, it is important that it is resolved fairly. This is important for your and your school career and someone else's mistake should not hinder you.

I agree totally. People have not been taught how to deal with differing opinions or different points of view, and have taught themselves to take them as direct personal attacks. Sometimes, I can understand their position, in the case of things like racism or gender discrimination. Those are antagonistic. But I frequently see young people take personal offense if someone dislikes a piece of media they enjoy, or even just interpret it in a different way than they do. They see it as someone saying that something they like or believe is wrong and bad, and thus so are they.

The thing that confuses me, is that people frequently complain about millennials and how sensitive they are. A lot of baby boomers like to throw around the idea of participation trophies and how nobody was ever told they aren't amazingly special at everything. And while that is true, and the people raised like that are hard to deal with, I feel like some baby boomers forget who it was that raised them that way. Kids didn't give themselves participation trophies, the adults that raised them did. Kids didn't actively hide from any opinion that clashed with theirs, adults hid them from it to spare their feelings. Now that those kids are adults and are missing those skills, the prior generation pretends like these tendencies sprang out of the void and they had no hand in it. The whole idea of people not wanting to accept any responsibility for things and pushing the blame on someone else is present in every generation.

[Horatio]

It takes us all a little bit of time to become more comfortable in our new homes.  We are willing to wait until they are happy to be out and about.

Yes, I wrote the professor.  She came back with a reply that I did not need to include the reference.  Her new thing was that I needed to add at least three references.  Well, on the very last page of my paper, are ten references.  I let her know that there was a reference page attached to the submitted paper, with ten references.  I am waiting on her new reply.

I totally agree about your view of millennials and participation trophies.  You are so right.  It came from the parents.  Everything you said in your last paragraph is so very accurate.  The only thing that I would slightly disagree with is, would be someone not taking responsibility for their error.  For example, no one can even admit that they made a "mistake".  They just say, "My bad".  My bad really means nothing.  The person is not admitting an error, nor are they apologising for doing something wrong.   

I will be back to answer this better as you just gave me an idea for my homework due this week.

 

[- Kat -]

Oh, I may have misspoke. I totally agree, nobody wants to take responsibility when they make a mistake. It's almost become a kind of game to some people, to see how they can 'apologize' but still make it clear that it wasn't their fault. "I'm sorry your feelings were hurt by what I said," is a very popular one. No acknowledgement that they may have said something rude or ignorant, just a throw-away apology to get people off their back while still resting the blame on the person they hurt with their actions.

[Horatio]

Ha, ha, ha... I was agreeing with you.  You stated it perfectly.  

A funny thing happened, I was standing in a line and the cashier spoke Spanish to the lady in front of me.  By looking at the lady, you would guess that she most likely did not speak Spanish.  The lady in line said, "speak English".  No please or other nice way of asking.  The cashier, said "I do not have to speak English.  You need to speak Spanish."  I was a little shocked at both of them.  When I got to the counter, the lady spoke to me in Spanish and I said nothing,  It was obvious that I needed to give her money, and I complied.  But what a strange encounter with the two people in front of me.  By the way, the cashier did not even bother to thank anyone for their purchase or business.  Not in any language.  I guess manners and courtesy are gone.  That is sad.  To top it all off, as I walked out the door, I held the door for the lady behind me.  She was on the telephone.  She did not even acknowledge that I had held the door for her.  It was almost as if I was there to serve her.  Hmmmmm.  This makes me wonder, where, as a society, are we headed if we have lost all courtesy, kindness and compassion for others.

[Horatio]

Thanksgiving is almost here and it is time to think about what to cook for dinner.  Turkey, of course, salad, crabnerries, sweet potatoes and some vegetasbles, plus the good old standby... homemade apple pie, from scratch, and a pumpkin pie.  Any suggestions for what else?

[Topazia]

IT'S ALIVE!!!!!

 

Squash is missing from that list, and green bean casserole

[Horatio]

Yes, the update is complete.  Green bean casserole is a staple, but I love squash and I had forgotten about that.  Thank you so very much!  Butternut squash is my favourite, but I love all varieties of squash.  

My problem is that I would be very happy to have only salad and turkey, but that would be too boring for the holiday festivities.  Thanksgiving only comes once a year, so I need to do something special.  

[Horatio]

I hope everyone had a phenomenal Happy Thanksgiving!  I ate so much that I went into the sleep mode for a day.

[Horatio]

Okay, I know that I am usually behind in accomplishing things, but this is ridiculous.  I am so behind in my Christmas shopping.  The worst part is that the FedEx Ground last day for shipping to arrive before Christmas is the sixteenth!  And FedEx is much later than the other guys.  This is too soon!!!  Thank goodness that I can just head to the local store and I am not relying on the online store for my Christmas gifts.

[Horatio]

Is everybody ready for Christmas?  I am almost finished with my shopping list.

[Topazia]

LOL nope, not ready! but I bake for Christmas, so I can't do it yet or it'll spoil!

 

Mackenzie made a friend recently, whose mom is cool, so we made a new friend too! She's learning SO MUCH lately, and picking up more mature speaking habits. This morning she asked my cat if she was having fun in her cat bed, for example. Sounds mundane to you and me, but from a toddler who is still working on R and L sounds, it's pretty advanced stuff!

[Horatio]

WOW!!!  That is fantastic!  I love hearing how Mackenzie is progressing and growing.  The English language is not easy and to hear how she is developing her language skills is so exciting.  I really enjoy hearing about how she asked the cat if she was having fun in her cat bed.  That really made me smile.  

Yesterday I was in the grocery store and I saw this little baby who appeared to be so really, really young, maybe a couple months or younger.  I talked to the baby and you would not have believed the smile he/she gave me.  It shocked me as the baby did not look old enough to even be able to focus on someone yet.  This really made my day.

What are you making for the Christmas present.  Your post made me think of the smell of Christmas cookies.

[Horatio]

Today is the very last shopping day before Christmas.  I hope that everyone has accomplished their shopping for Hanukkah and Christmas.  

[Horatio]

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that it is 2020!!!  The holidays are over and we are starting a new decade.

[Horatio]

I was just wondering how everyone's new year is going?  I was in Death Valley right after the first of the year and the weather was wonderful with gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.  

 

 

[Topazia]

happy new year! mine is... well, it's a continuation of time. nothing major new, other than the calendar got heavier lol

[Horatio]

Topazia, the good news is that your calendar will continue to get heavier and heavier.  I just wanted to give you something to look forward to.  How is your art progressing?  You really have a considerable amount of talent and I hope that you can make money with your art.

There is not much going on here.  I am taking lots and lots of photographs and taking a couple of courses at the local university.  Other than that, I am goofing off.  

[Horatio]

Sunrise in Florida this morning...

[The Biggest Fan Of Fuzzy]

[lexxscrapham]

[Topazia]

Hi! What a lovely sunrise! MacKenzie is a growing happy little girl. We're doubling down on potty training right now. We have a sticker chart with weekly goal rewards we know she likes to try to get her more enthusiastic about being a big girl.

[Horatio]

And how is the potty training going?  Terrific I hope.  When we first met, it never occurred to me that we would be conversing about potty training your daughter.  Yet, here we are.  When you say you are 'doubling down' on the potty training, I am at a loss as to what you mean.  I would think that the sticker chart with the weekly goal rewards would be a fantastic way to achieve your goal.  That is so creative on your part.  What else are you doing, or did I miss something?

Thank you for your comment.  I went to the beach and was rewarded for my efforts!  I happy you enjoyed it.

 

 

[Horatio]

On 2/13/2020 at 7:16 PM, The Biggest Fan Of Fuzzy said:

TBFOF!!!  WOW!!!  I am so sad that I missed being here when you and Lexxscrapham were here.  How are you?  How is life treating you?  What are you doing?  Please, fill me in!

[Horatio]

On 2/14/2020 at 7:30 AM, lexxscrapham said:

WOW!!!  Lexxscrapham, I am so sorry to have missed you.  What are you doing with yourself these days?  What is happening in your life.  I really would like to hear from you!

[Horatio]

Unfortunately, I missed wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day.  I was accomplishing this marathon drive from the Florida Keys to Utah, to Las Vegas and then back to Utah.  I was attempting to take care of some details in Florida before heading back to Utah.  I drove the twenty-seven hundred miles, in less than forty-six hours.  It was drive, stop for gas, drive, stop for more gas, drive, stop for even more gas, until I needed to get a little sleep in the car, and repeat.  The very first thing I did when I arrived home, was to take a long, hot shower.  We are making a move from Utah to Nevada by the end of the month, so I hope to put an end to my cross-country driving career very shortly.

[Topazia]

We've just been trying for the last year but we've not been consistent, that's all haha well she's definitely going to earn an ice cream but she hasn't pooped on it so no new dress, and peeing is iffy on it so she may not earn a doll this week lol

[Horatio]

LOL!!!  This sounds so hard to accomplish.  I applaud you for your dedication to making this work.  

[The Biggest Fan Of Fuzzy]

On 2/20/2020 at 7:42 AM, Horatio said:

TBFOF!!!  WOW!!!  I am so sad that I missed being here when you and Lexxscrapham were here.  How are you?  How is life treating you?  What are you doing?  Please, fill me in!

Hello! 

Not too much to report these days. Still living in NYC. I quit my job Spring 2019 to "find myself" - as all the millennials seem to be doing these days. Never "found myself", but definitely enjoyed my year (omg I can't believe it's almost been a year) off. At this point I'm interviewing to get back into what I was doing before, just to have an income. 

Hoping to save up some $$ within the next year and move to Amsterdam in Spring/Summer 2021. 

 

 

How are you doing, Horatio?

[Horatio]

WOW!!!  Incredible.  Ha, ha, ha!  Some people never "find themselves".   Unfortunately, money is a necessity to have a roof over your head, food on the table and do some of those things you like to do, such as buy clothes and have dinner out.  I love Amsterdam.  You will absolutely love living there.  Then, I will come over and visit you.  A year off.  That is wonderful to have some time to think about what you would like to do.  You will be working for a very, very long time, so enjoy your life whilst you are young.  You are well qualified, so you will find a job fast.  I am certain that you will save the money that you are planning on.  

Life is terrific.  We just finished a move from Utah to Nevada.  I am still playing with my camera, taking photographs of anything and everything.  Ninety-nine percent are junk, but in that last one percent, I am fortunate to find one I like.  Are you still taking photographs?  You really have a very good eye and I hope that you continue with your photography.  I am enjoying many new hobbies.  Jewellery making and rock hounding for the rocks that I use for my jewellery.  

I will be back.  

 

[Horatio]

How is everyone doing during this stressful time?  What are you doing to get through this stressful time?

I have decided to take at least ten photographs, everyday.  The subject does not matter.  It is just the process that matters.  I have taken some very strange images in the last week, rocks, roadside litter, bugs, anything that catches my eye.  I will start posting images that I think you might enjoy.

Would everyone please stay safe during this time of uncertainty?  Practice at least two metres/six feet between other people, use a tissue or your sleeve when you cough or sneeze, wash your hands for at least twenty seconds and do not touch your face with your hands.

Take care and be well.

Horatio

[Topazia]

I'm here, I'm safe, and I'm healthy. I'm "essential" as a supermarket employee, so no forced extended vacation for me. I'm already a homebody so not going out except work isn't much of a struggle, esp since my main source of socializing has been Discord and Twitch for three years now. MacKenzie is having difficulty adjusting bc she doesn't really understand why she can't go play with other little kids at the park. She doesn't understand being sick; she's only had one cold in her life, so long ago she wouldn't remember it.

I'm worried about getting sick, because there are people out on leave in my store with "pneumonia" (read, undiagnosed but showing symptoms...) and 50 in my county have managed test positive. If I get sick, it's going to be a nightmare bc while I'm healthy and have no underlying conditions, we live with my over-70, diabetic, cancer-stricken, breathing-impaired father in law, who rather conveniently pays the rent. Which I cannot afford by myself. But we pay for our own food, so if I just stay home and forgo earning my paycheck, I can't feed my family. [unrelated - I have never spelled out "forgo" before and it looks weird]

So I'm stressed. But I'm working in a job that makes me happy, and helps people stay out of my store, which is even more important these days. I work in order fulfillment, which is basically a 9-hour scavenger hunt throughout the store every day, as I pick out products people ordered online for curbside pickup. It's fun! I get plenty of exercise (average 20K steps a day) and my coworkers are fun.

Stay safe, please. As absent as I am, this place and the people in it are important to me.

[Horatio]

Topazia!!!  Thank you for the update.  
Thank goodness you are healthy and working.  I am pleased that you are happy with your job.  Twenty thousand steps a day?!?!?!?  You must sleep very well at night.  

Only one cold???  That is fantastic!  Whatever you are doing, keep it up!  It is so hard to see young children not be able to go outside and then they are too young to understand why not.  How old is MacKenzie now?  It seems like only yesterday that she was born.

The stress of worrying about not catching this virus, can wear down your immune system. Please follow the guidelines of washing your hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds, do not touch your face with your hands, and cover your face with a tissue or your sleeve when you cough or sneeze.  These guidelines should help you stay safe throughout your life.  

i will be back in a little while to finish this conversation.

 

 

[Topazia]

IT'S BACK! THE BOARDS ARE ALIVE!!!!

[Horatio]

Yes, I agree.  Great news.

How are you continuing to do during this very different period of our lives?  How is work?  Are you still as busy?  

Not much to report here.  Things are still the same.  I am taking quite a number of indoor images.   For example, I am playing with my food,  LOL!!!  Exactly what you teach MacKenzie not to do.  Today I am going to play with oil and water.  We will see how that turns out.  Perhaps this will be one photographic adventure that will be best conducted outdoors.  LOL!!!

 

[Topazia]

Life is continuing much as normal lately, just with no park outings for the little one. I got a promotion, and we're very busy, which is good. My department keeps people out of the store.

That's such a cool looking picture!

[Horatio]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

You obviously are working hard and your managers noticed.  I will be right back with more images.

 

[Horatio]

The COVID-19 virus has certainly changed our lives.  The big question is how is everyone coping?  One fact to consider, Anne Frank was in a four hundred fifty square foot attic, not able to make a sound, for over two years.  She never left the attic for over two years.  We can make it through this.

[Horatio]

Here is a cactus flower.  It blooms for one day only.  

 

[Horatio]

A sunrise for everyone.  It is a panorama.  I hope that you enjoy it.

 

[Horatio]

Yesterday was - Kat's - birthday.  Every single day this month, I was thinking that I needed to remember to wish her a happy birthday, even up to the very night prior.   Well, here I am a day late.  I totally missed her special day.  Happy Belated Birthday - Kat -.

 

 

[Topazia]

so many beautiful pictures, as always. My life hasn't changed a whole lot since this whole thing. I still go to work, I still come home and play with MacKenzie before bed, and I still try to do art at night. Were I in a different field of work, it'd probably be a very different story haha!

[Horatio]

Topazia, thank you for your comment.  I appreciate hearing this.  

The terrific news is that you are still working.  Is your husband working?  Hopefully, he is.  MacKenzie must look forward to accomplishing art with her mother every evening.  I always remember doing art with my mother.  It was always such a special time.

Let me see what other photographs I can post.  I have been playing with flowers and food these past weeks.  Some photographs are good, some are not so good.  It took me about seventy photographs for me to be happy about the result.  The good news, it passes quite a bit of time.

 

[Horatio]

SpaceX did a phenomenal job of delivering two U. S. Astronauts to the International Space Station!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE INVOLVED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!

[Horatio]

I am playing with a different look in photographs.  Here is one avenue that I have started to experiment with.  I hope you like the idea.

 

[Horatio]

Here is one more photograph with a different look.

[Topazia]

those are some trippy but awesome photos!

[Horatio]

Ha, Ha, Ha.  I agree.  But, this is the best I can do under this COVID virus mess.  Here is another trippy one for you.  LOL!!!

 

[Topazia]

that looks like a Monet painting!

[Horatio]

Thank you, I appreciate that.  At the moment, I am attempting to take photographs that are two images combined into one, in the camera.  This is not something I am doing in photoshop, but an in camera attempt at art.  So far, I do not have any photographs that I am happy with.  Hopefully, soon.  

How are you, Sean and MacKenzie?  She must be getting big!

[Topazia]

she's turning 4... in a week... make it stop! we're doing great, sean got a job a couple months ago and I'm still working where I've been for a year. And she's adjusted alright to no outside interaction, although I hate that she lost access to children right as her little personality is bubbling through. Luckily my mom and siblings are able to watch her sometimes so she still gets some play time with other humans than mom and dad.

[Horatio]

15 hours ago, Topazia said:

she's turning 4... in a week... make it stop! we're doing great, sean got a job a couple months ago and I'm still working where I've been for a year. And she's adjusted alright to no outside interaction, although I hate that she lost access to children right as her little personality is bubbling through. Luckily my mom and siblings are able to watch her sometimes so she still gets some play time with other humans than mom and dad.

Four, I cannot believe she is almost four.  Happy Birthday MacKenzie!  This is such a tough time for all little kids who should be around others at this age.  I am so happy that you have family that can step in and give her some attention.  Her mother and father are terrific, but the attention from others is also wonderful.

Congratulations on Sean's new job.  I hope he this is a company that he feels is a good place for him, and a place where he can grow and move up.  I remember when you started your latest job, are you happy there?  I know you are working really hard at this job, so I hope that it is a good place for you.  

Hopefully, you all are staying healthy and avoiding the germs.  This will be over soon, and life will go on.  

[Horatio]

On 8/9/2020 at 2:43 PM, Horatio said:

Four, I cannot believe she is almost four.  Happy Birthday MacKenzie!  This is such a tough time for all little kids who should be around others at this age.  I am so happy that you have family that can step in and give her some attention.  Her mother and father are terrific, but the attention from others is also wonderful.

Congratulations on Sean's new job.  I hope he this is a company that he feels is a good place for him, and a place where he can grow and move up.  I remember when you started your latest job, are you happy there?  I know you are working really hard at this job, so I hope that it is a good place for you.  

Hopefully, you all are staying healthy and avoiding the germs.  This will be over soon, and life will go on.  

So, how was MacKenzie's birthday?  Did you bake a cake?  Any photographs you would like to share?

I am taking two courses this semester.  These are a little more difficult online, as the two professors are not accustomed to teaching online.  One professor, does not answer his telephone, or answer emails.  YIKES!!!  How can you not answer any form of contact when a student is attempting to reach you.  I could see not answering for a couple days, but four weeks?  I have been attempting to reach this guy for four weeks.  The other professor knows the information that she is teaching so well, that she misses steps online.  She will say, go here, or go here, then here and here.  Okay, go where?  You cannot read the video on her screen as she has not adjusted the focus and the words are blurry.  How do you expect me to follow you when I cannot even see the cursor?  Then she will miss stating steps she is taking, and you end up trying to figure out how she went from step one to step five.  She omitted telling you about steps two, three and four.  If you were sitting in her classroom, you would raise your hand and stop her.  This way she could fill in the gaps.  But, online, with videos... well, all you can do is start and stop the videos and hope for the best.  You can see if you see her hand moving rapidly across the screen.  And... this is only week four.  Only ten more weeks to go.  

As for other news, there is not much.  I have decided to enrol in helicopter training as an add-on.  I think that this is something that I would like to do to enrich my mind.  The flight school that I have been speaking with, has a program that begins in the spring.  I am looking forward to this.

Not much else to report.  I hope all is well with you, Sean and MacKenzie.

[Topazia]

her day was great! she got the gifts she needed, and some fun stuff too. I didn't bake a cake, but the storebought was better anyway lol was a good one! I don't have any recent photos on my PC right now, they're all on the phone. but she's beautiful haha!

ew, those professors sound frustrating. but I'm glad you're in school, and working on your mind.

All is well with us. I've felt very sick today but I don't think it's the Rona. Hopefully not. He enjoys his job for the most part, and loves his manager. I'm enjoying mine, but I'm trying to transfer because his store (same as mine, across town) is closer to home and they don't get forced to work until midnight every weekend bc stuff didn't get done.

I had closed my art commissions for several months this year but I've opened them again because hey, money is good, and art is fun, so doing them is wise lol

other than that, not much to report. Hope all is well with you!

[Horatio]

This is all terrific news.  Yes, Public makes the most wonderful cakes.  I do not know if you have ever tried one from there, but they are so good.  I am certain that other locations are also as tasty, but for me, the Public store cannot be surpassed. I so happy to hear that MacKenzie's birthday was a success.  

Would you please back up your telephone or camera to your laptop?  Back ups are good.  

Yes, my professors are very frustrating.  But, on top of this is the fact that these professors have had to transition from face-to-face classes to online classes, and they did not do it very well last semester.  They could have accomplished something over the summer, but everyone in power said that face-to-face classes would be back in the fall.  Well, we all know this did not happen.  So, now the professors are scrambling to make online classes.  And... in the back of their minds is the fact that this may be for only one semester, so they really do not want to work so hard on this.  Well, you never know what will happen in the spring semester.

I hope that you get transferred to a store closer to home.  That would be really terrific.  

The news that you have opened your art commissions again, is outstanding.  As you say, you are having fun and making money, so what could be better.  I hope they start rolling in.

Not much is happening here.  Just me complaining about my professors and trying to grasp all the gaps in their videos.  There is one professor who is showing us things on her computer screen, with 'click here', 'go there' and other similar phrases.  The problem is that she is so fast and her cursor is black on black or grey, that you cannot follow exactly where she is pointing and then she is off to the other 'click here'.  YIKES!!!!!  I have stopped, reversed and started one six minute video over one hundred times, just trying to find out where her little cursor is located.

Other than that I am good.  The better news, is that when I get extremely frustrated with the videos, I find that cleaning the house makes the stress go away.  I never thought anything would make me want to clean the house.  My guess is that it is the gratification of seeing the clean bathroom or kitchen that makes me feel better.

Now it is time for me to get back to my homework.  I have three assignments due Monday and a big assignment due tomorrow..

Take care!

[Horatio]

Playing with my food again...

[Horatio]

It was the day before my birthday and I was feeling like I was coming down with a cold.  By that night, I had no appetite and went to bed very, very early.  This did not last long, as I was up in a few hours feeling sick and feeling really, really bad.  By noon the next day, I was quite a bit worse.  After speaking with my doctor, I was on my way to the emergency room of the hospital.  The doctor removed my appendix that night around 20H00.  On top of all that, the hospital lost my wallet.  

What a way to spend my birthday... in the hospital.  

The good news, I am on the mend to getting better!

[Topazia]

Oh my goodness! I'm glad you went to the hospital when you did! Belated happy birthday, although it seems it wasn't a very happy one haha I'm happy to hear you're on your way back to health. also, that's an awesome looking pepper!

[Horatio]

Yes, this is a birthday that I would not like to repeat.  Thank you for the birthday wishes.  For some reason, I was thinking that when I was released from the hospital and went home, I would miraculously be well the minute I walked in the door.  Well, it was very nice to be home, but the recovery took a little bit longer than I wanted.  

I did my own detective work on my wallet.  I narrowed it down to an emergency nurse, who logged the wallet, but never put it into my bag of belongings, and the person who took me upstairs to the operating room.  When I was speaking with a neighbour, she immediately said that the nurse stole the wallet.  As I was not totally coherent, I would not say that.  But, it is very odd that someone would not have put my wallet inside my bag.  Now is the difficult part, I am attempting to replace my documents.  How is it that the driver's licence bureau cannot get your name spelt correctly, when you are only requesting a duplicate licence?  This really boggles my mind.  Just print out the information from the lost licence on to the new license.  Why change the name?  

Anyway, my new motto is, never carry anything in your wallet that you do not want to lose.  Carrying all of this other stuff really does not make any sense. 

Thank you for your compliment on my pepper.  It reminded me of a salamander type animal.

[Horatio]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

This Thanksgiving will certainly be one that we do not forget.  Please take time to enjoy your family and friends and know that life will be back to normal soon.  Enjoy your day.

Horatio

[Horatio]

An apple a day...

[Horatio]

A spray bottle in my pantry.

 

[Horatio]

Two nights ago, we had an interesting moonrise.  You could not see the pink clouds with the naked eye, but the camera picked up the pink of the fading sunset.  Plus, if you look directly above the moon, almost near the top of the frame, you will see Jupiter and Saturn very close to each other.

 

 

 

[Topazia]

oh wow that looks amazing! I got to show MacKenzie the planets last night. She's kind of interested in space and planets but isn't quite focused enough to grasp how awesome it is that we can see such far away things with our eyes. I hope you're having a good day!

[Horatio]

It must be such a terrific feeling to see MacKenzie learning about new things.  And you get to introduce her to these wonders.

As far as my day, it is much better now that the semester is over and my grades have been finalised.  The next semester starts in two weeks.  Two more courses to take in the spring.

How is work going?  Are you ready for Christmas?  The last gift on my list is being shipped, via FedEx overnight, on Monday.  That is cutting it too close for me.

[Topazia]

It really is so much fun watching her! I'm glad you finished your courses, and I hope you have a relaxing break.

 

Work is going okay, very busy in the leadup to Christmas. Christmas went well, I got more than I was expecting and MacKenzie had a fantastic day! She got a stuffed narwhal bigger than me haha I baked a bunch of cookies for everyone's presents. We were up very very late doing that, and ended up sleeping on the couch so we would make sure we got up to put out presents before she woke up. Can't leave them out at night or the cat would get into them!

[Horatio]

Yes, I am very happy those two course are over.   Next semester is Aviation Economics and I have already started reading the textbook.  This is going to be a hard course.  Lots of charts and graphs that make absolutely no sense, even when they are explained to me.  Then I have added one more course as an elective.  We shall see.

You have to show us a photograph of MacKenzie with the narwhal.  I can only imagine what her expression was when she opened up her present!  When you told us about the cookies, I could actually smell them.  What an incredibly, fantastic idea.  That sounds like a wonderful gift that everyone would love to receive.  What I did not know, was that the cat would get into the presents.  What makes the cat want to get into the presents?  Is it the bows or ribbons?  Was there a certain smell that would attract the cat?  I had no idea that a cat would get into presents.  Would you please tell me more?  Anyway, I hope that you got everything in place before MacKenzie woke up.  Sleeping on the couch must not have been fun.  

We had a very quiet Christmas.  Mostly we received things that we needed, such as coats, clothing and books.  Then we cooked too much food.  But, we turned it into frozen meals for the future, so the food was not wasted.

[Topazia]

I'll have to get a picture of her soon! So my cat is curious and bored at night, so she'll scratch and make noise so we get up and do something. Also, she eats plastic (which is very very bad, we have to be careful of what we leave out) so she'd either chew the wrapping paper or the ribbons, or worse (because she's a brat sometimes) she'd pee on it! So... nothing we care a lot about left in her reach at night.

We did get everything done in time. I slept in a recliner and that sucked. I've slept on the couch before and didn't mind it; our pillows are nice and soft, and the cushions are fairly comfy to nap on. The recliner is old and kind of broken, so it was not nearly as nice. Sean passed out on the couch, or I'd have called dibs LOL!

[Horatio]

I will wait for your updated photograph of MacKenzie.

As for the cat, I had no idea cats would do the things your cat does.  I find it interesting that she will make noise to wake you up.  That is so funny.  Of course, not for you, but when you are outside looking at the situation, it is quite funny.  Your cat eats plastic?  YIKES!!!  That is so serious!  I wonder what it is about the plastic that would make her want to eat it.  These days, almost everything is plastic.  That is very scary.  Did I mention, your cat has a wild personality?  What would make a cat want to pee on something?  I understand animals mark their territory, but on wrapping paper and ribbons?  That is so interesting.  I guess we know who rules the house.

I do not like recliners.  For some reason, my body just does not fit in them.  They are uncomfortable to me, no matter how I try and sit in them.  So, I could never imagine sleeping in one.  

There has been quite a bit happening lately.  I completed my two courses and received an A and an A+.  This semester I have Aviation Economics and I am happy that course is online.  The second course is a live class and I may drop this.  We are moving again.  On the tenth of February we are moving from Nevada to California.  This might put a crimp in my studies and I do not want to ruin my A average.

[Topazia]

I found a great picture of the kiddo!

A significant percentage of cats have pica, which is the drive to eat things that are not food. Plastic is fairly common among those cats' bad eats. Humans can have it too, although that's usually due to a dietary deficiency. She used to spray the house (pee in inappropriate places) a lot before our other cat died and she got spayed. Being in heat will drive cats to spray, and she also pees in bad places when she's anxious or I haven't cleaned her box recently enough. The presents I was more worried about her scratching at them or eating the ribbon, the latter of which could seriously injure or even kill her.

I like good recliners. Ours is not one haha!

I'm proud of you for getting those A's! Oh wow, to California? I hope your move goes smoothly!

 

[Horatio]

I am now going to sound like one of those relatives at holidays... 'look at how much MacKenzie has grown!'  She is getting so tall.  MacKenzie was a beautiful baby, but she is turning into a very beautiful young lady!!!  How old is she in this picture? How old is she now?   I just love this image with her and the bubbles.  What a fantastic photograph.  

Thank you for the information regarding cats.  I was totally unaware.  Another good reason to have a dog.  Ha, ha, ha.  When we bought our house, the previous owner had cats that sprayed and the house smelled awful.  We almost did not buy the house because of the smell.  Everyone told me that I would never be able to get rid of the smell, but I did.  We removed the carpet and the flooring, all the way down to the original concrete from when the house was built.  We put in wood floors with a visqueen liner to protect against moisture.  Plus, when you put two coats of paint over the old paint, all of these things help quite a bit.  When I worked at a veterinary technician, we had a cat brought in by the owner.  When we x-rayed the cat, there was this curly thing in it's stomach.  No one could figure out what it was, but the veterinarian thought it would be best to operate and remove the object.  It was the old type telephone cords, from the handset to the telephone base.  The way we found out was when the veterinarian called the cat's owner regarding the need to operate.  The telephone was answered, but no one was talking.  The owner called us back and she said that she knew what the cat ate.  When she had picked up the handset, the cord was only about six inches long and was not attached to the rest of the telephone.  

Thank you for your compliment.  These next two courses are really more difficult.  I cannot decide if I am reading too much into them or not, but we will see.  As I see the charts the economists have included in the one book, I see the deficiencies in the charts.  You can make any chart to prove the point you wish to make.  That is very frustrating.  

The move is going to happen by the fifteenth of the February.  I am already starting to box up the house.  This is all that I feel like I do.  Box up our house and move somewhere.  I will be happy when we finally decide where we wish to end up, and move there.  It will definitely not be California.  As soon as we can move out of that state, we certainly will.  My guess is that this is a three to five year move.

Today I am going out in search of pretty rocks.  I am heading into this one area to look for a variety of coloured agates.  You ask, what am I going to do with them?  Put them into a box for their final destination, our last home.  The rocks will then be placed into their permanent home, the garden.  For my adventure, I rented a bright red Ford F-150 pick-up truck.  I would have much preferred a more subdued colour, such as black, but this was the last pickup truck the rental company had.  Plus, as I was inspecting the vehicle, it was dirty on the outside and inside.  They had not cleaned the truck.  I pointed this out to the agent and had him notate the record.  Now, when I return the truck, even dirtier, there should be no problem.   

I need to run as I am leaving the house in about forty minutes to start my adventure.  Talk to you later.  

Thank you again for the photograph!  MacKenzie is gorgeous and growing faster than ever!!!

[Horatio]

We have moved to California.  Not the sunny beach and surf that you see on the television.  But the centre of the state.  What is scary is that all of the food producing land, is being sold for development.  My question, is anyone thinking of where our food is going to come from if we continue to spread out instead of up?  If we do not think about food now, the United States will be relying on others for our food.  If the other nations need food for their people, what will we do?  This is a very scary thought, as we put farmers out of business.  Just something to think about.

[Topazia]

hello! I hope your move was as trouble-free as can be! We finally put MacKenzie in daycare a few weeks ago. She immediately got sick, so our one week planned vacation (this current week) turned into a 15 day vacation (we quarantined last week in case it wasn't just a cold). She's fine now, been back to school since last Tuesday. It took her several days, but she's happy to go now and getting into the routines there. We didn't want her to go into daycare, but my mother has been watching her full time since October, and she was only able to because she has long-Covid, so her job was extremely flexible with her working hours. Well she is finally better enough to work more, so she can't watch the kid anymore. And we work full time... so kid needs a babysitter. But we're saving money on it because she's in the preschool program there, so it's not too bad. The child tax credit will almost pay for the monthly cost of it when that starts coming through.

 

I can't believe she's almost ready for school... I remember her first days, so cuddly and sleepy and helpless... and now she's a rambunctious child (not even a toddler anymore!) who's learning to read and do math stuff!

 

As for food lands... I know... Humans are kinda dumb. sigh

[Horatio]

What a time you have had!  I am so happy to hear that your mother is doing better.  That is terrific news.  I am sorry to hear that your one week vacation turned into a fifteen day quarantine.  Now you get to start planning on your vacation for next year.  

Preschool will be good for McKenzie as she will learn so much and the child tax credit will help with the expense.  That is good to hear.  McKenzie is certainly growing and developing into such a wonderful little girl.  It is not long before she will be a teenager.  Right now her preschool will give you a little break on educating her and worrying about babysitters.  This will be a good thing.  Plus, she is enjoying herself, so everything is working out for the best.  How many days per week does McKenzie attend school?

How is work going for you?  I hope that your job is not taking too much of a toll on you.  My new 'job' is a house renovation after the sale goes through.  I will keep you posted on that.  I purchased a ton of seeds and will be planting them in the spring and after the summer.  That will be fun.   It will be an organic garden, with all the ingredients for a salad.  There will also be pomegranates, a variety of citrus, avocados, and then a collection of cool sunflowers, lavender, and poppies.  I am excited for this.  So, I will be able to tend to my garden whilst the workers are working in the house.  

Photographs will follow after we close on the house.  It is a little bit strange, as the pool is in the front yard, but you will see what it looks like.  Overall, the house has been the same since it was build in 1974.  There is bright flaming orange tile in the kitchen with a bright orange ceramic handing lamp.  Very, very seventies.  

I will be back in touch soon.

 

[Horatio]

This is so strange, twice I have tried to respond and it will not take my reply.

[Horatio]

Hopefully, everyone had a very nice Passover and Easter holiday.

We had a very nice Easter dinner and enjoyed our chocolate bunnies.

Pictures to follow.

[Topazia]

I worked Easter, but my daughter's school gave her lots of candy to tide her over the weekend LOL! Hopefully you've had a safe time of things the last month!

[Horatio]

Dark chocolate is one of my favourites.  For Easter, we did a chocolate taste test of dark chocolate bunnies.  We had a solid Dove bunny, a hollow Godiva bunny and a hollow Lindt bunny.  The test was a blind taste test.  I put the pieces out and made them all the same shape, size and thickness.  There was a clear winner.  Would you like to guess which one what the winner?

[Horatio]

I forgot, did you and MacKenzie colour any Easter eggs?  I love decorating eggs.

[Topazia]

I prefer Dove bunnies bc they're solid, but I love Lindt chocolate!

No, no egg coloring. but she did enjoy setting up egg hunts for us throughout the house.

 

[Horatio]

The solid Dove bunnies are a favourite here for exactly the same reason.  The taste test was fun and very illuminating.  I was going to guess that Lindt or Godiva would have been my favourites.  

Colouring eggs is such a treat for me.  I really enjoy making the designs on the eggs and then seeing the results of how the colours work out with the designs.  Sometimes I have some weird looking eggs, and sometimes they are pretty cool.  But I do find out what I do not want to do again.  

We found that making ham dinners, and freezing them for the future worked out really well.  We had created a frozen meal of ham, sweet potatoes and a vegetable mix.  For dinner, all we need to do is heat it up the dinner in the microwave for about six minutes.  I have started fixing salmon, turkey, tomato sauce with meatballs, and pork chops this way.  I do all the cooking on one day and then make a bunch of frozen dinners.  It really cuts down on having to make a healthy dinner when you have limited time and a busy schedule.  

 

[Horatio]

Here is my latest experiment with light.

 

[Topazia]

IT LIVESSSS!

[Horatio]

Yes, we have a new home now.  Hampsterboards.net.  Welcome to the new and improved HampsterDance Message Boards.

I had uploaded the wrong type file, so now I have removed and replaced the photograph.  I hope you enjoy my experiment.

[Horatio]

On 1/15/2021 at 2:43 AM, Topazia said:

 

This is one of my favourite images of MacKenzie.

[Topazia]

It's one of my favorites too! her hair is so much longer now. It's down to her butt! She let me French braid it along the side this morning. I've never been good at hair styles but I'm learning; I know she likes feeling pretty. Also, she likes decorating her walls with her coloring. I will never discourage her from feeling proud of her art

[Topazia]

also the odd paper with a pink stick on it off to the side is her unicorn. It's adorable.

[Horatio]

I am so thrilled that you are helping MacKenzie love art.  The saddest thing that ever happened in schools, is when some schools thought that a sports team, such as football or basketball, was much more important than the arts, and eliminated the arts programs.  Music, art and dance helps develop areas of the brain that sports will never touch.   My mother and sister were artists and I am a musician.  These are wonderful skills that only enhance the world.  I could never imagine what a boring world this would be without the arts.

[Horatio]

Did you see the last image I posted?  It was a few posts back.  This is my latest form of photography.  I am playing with glass and light.

[Topazia]

I just now saw it, I must have skimmed past before. that looks sooo cool!

[Horatio]

Thank you for your nice words.  I am really trying to see how light works and what you can get when it shines through glass.  Refraction of light can be very interesting.

 

[Topazia]

I'm still alive!

 

My mom moved this past weekend. Well, my dad and little sibs too. They moved to MD! I've never lived this far from them before and it's kinda weird. I don't think MacKenzie fully grasps that they're gone gone, but she is fully aware their house is empty bc she was with us when we were cleaning it out for them. She's in Kindergarten now and seems to enjoy school. She turned five recently! I'm so excited to see her learn and grow and make friends at school. I'm scared, bc covid and the fact that crazy people exist, but she's good about wearing a mask, and our area seems fairly safe for little kids, so I'm hoping the second fear never happens.

I made her a dress for her birthday and regretted it immediately. It's a lovely purple dress with butterflies and some woven-in glitter, with three layers of ribbon-bound tulle as a petticoat. It's gorgeous!! but I used glitter tulle.... guess what the bouncy, happy, energetic five year old left ALL OVER THE HOUSE over the course of six hours....

My feet are still glittery. But she loved it, so it was worth the extra sweeping :D

[Horatio]

Topazia, how terrific to hear from you.  

What a far move.  How did your family make the decision to move to Maryland?    It is a terrific state, but as you said, the family is farther away than they ever have been.  How do you explain moving to a five-year-old?  Please tell me why they picked Maryland?  Work?  I know that you are going to miss your family so very much.

Hopefully, you will never see your fears realised.  The problem is is that schools, especially schools with the really young children, are giant germ carriers.  You can be guaranteed that you will get colds and other germs that MacKenzie wants to share with you.  

I absolutely love the glitter dress story.  That is hilarious.  You will be picking up glitter for a long time.  Would you please post a picture of the dress that you made?  It sounds incredibly beautiful.  MacKenzie must have felt like a princess.  Happy Birthday MacKenzie.  

As for things here, I am taking three courses this semester.  Two Aviation courses and one English course.  I have no idea what I was thinking, but as of tomorrow, all the courses are going full force.

Our house in Florida, that we have owned since 1997, is going to be placed on the market.  We have decided to sell the house and downsize to one location.  So, I am finishing the renovation in Florida and am in the middle of a renovation in California.  My goal is to have all the courses complete and the renovations complete and one house sold by the middle of December.  Pretty lofty goals.

That is about al that is happening here.

Take care.

Horatio

 

[Topazia]

I don't have any of her in it bc Maddie did all the pictures on her phone that day, but here's one of the dress by itself (ignore the messy desk ). She absolutely felt like a princess haha!

My dad is a priest and has been trying to find a job for a few years. He FINALLY found one! We're all very excited for him. It's in Maryland, so that's why they're moving there.

Good luck on your coursework! You can do it!  And I hope you get top dollar for your FL home. I was really hoping we'd be able to rent my mom's place. I love that house. But the church they're going to doesn't provide housing, so they have to sell it so they can buy a place up there.

[Horatio]

What a beautiful dress!!!  You did a superb job as a seamstress.  No wonder she felt like a princess.

Your desk is not messy.  If I was to take a photograph of my desk, you would wonder how I find anything and how I manage to get any work accomplished.  

I had no idea that work in the ministry was so hard to come by.  The last few years must have been very hard on your father and family.  This job will be wonderful for them.  To show how little I know about other religions, I always thought that the church provided a residence for the minister.  May I please ask what religion your family is?  I hope your family enjoys Maryland.  It is a very nice state.  I wonder if Cheesus is still in Maryland.

I do understand about your wanting to keep the house and rent it out.  There are so many memories that you and your family have in that house.  Our house in Florida is a house that I really love as well.  We renovated the house and went far above what most people would ever do.  The big drawback for someone else is that the house does not have a massive master bedroom and master bathroom.  These two rooms are small and the master closet is not a walk-in closet.  This is a big problem for someone else.  For us, we only slept in our bedroom, so it did not matter that the rooms were small.  The house was built in the 1950's, and they did not make monster-sized rooms back then.  Oh well, if someone wants a football field-sized bedroom, they can always build a second story on the house.  For me, I could grow old in that house, but it is time for me to downsize and having two homes on opposite coasts is more than what I want to deal with at this time.

 

[Topazia]

Many churches do provide a residence for the head priest, but not necessarily for the associate priests. Not all churches can afford to provide housing even for the head priest, tho. They're Anglican Christian. He'll be serving as the head priest at his church, but it's the cathedral so he's not technically the head bc the bishop is based out of it, so that's who gets the provided housing.

I'm sure they'll love it there. They are like half an hour from the beach, my little sister already has a job and starts tomorrow, and my parents like the snow.

There are some great memories there. I painted my room bright purple with many-colored spots all over the walls. It has since been repainted several times by my little sister, who got my room when I moved out. It was a good house.

Hey, we use our gigantic master bedroom for an office for Maddie's streaming. We sleep in one of the other bedrooms, right next to MacKenzie's room. We sleep there... why should it be huge? The master bath isn't that much bigger than the main bath, and the master closet sucks so there's no loss there. A streamer or tech-lover would be fine with a small master as long as they have another room available for their office stuff haha!

[Horatio]

Topazia, thank you for the explanation.  That is very interesting.  I had no idea just how the housing worked.  That is something they really do not let the congregation know about.

Your sister landed a job quite fast.  Congratulations to her.  The beach is wonderful, and it is even better in the winter.  I always loved the beach in the winter when I was younger.  I hope that your parents remember how much they like the snow when they are scraping the ice off of their windshields.  That was the part I never really cared for.

Yes, terrific memories.  We were never permitted to paint colours on our walls.  We had white walls, and we decorated with art and rugs over our hardwood floors.  

We are in total agreement with you.  We use our bedroom for sleeping.  We do not watch television in there or get on the laptop, we only sleep in that room.  This way, when we enter that room, we are usually asleep within minutes of our heads hitting the pillow.  

We created a media room in our house for computers, television, sound systems and anything else that you might want that is technology related.

Closets, all the closets, save the hall linen closets are small.  The old fashioned small.  Just about six feet across.  There is no walking inside and no playing a game of basketball in our closets.  Our master bathroom is very small.  It has one large sink, a bathtub/shower combination and a toilet.  There is no additional room for whatever it is you want to do there.  I hope that our house sells.

 

 

[Topazia]

greetings!

I hope your house sold!

My family is doing well in MD so far. We're collaborating with a friend and favored teacher to get my sister a yearbook bc I guess she's feeling homesick. I'm excited for the surprise lol

Maddie and I are doing alright. Mostly following the hyperfocuses where they take us lol right now we're into woodworking and 3D modeling with Blender.

MacKenzie is a very clever, very silly kid with big feelings that we're learning to regulate. We need to get her checked for ADHD soon bc she's starting to display more obvious symptoms. Unsurprising, since both of her parents suffer through it untreated. But I want her to thrive, so it's been on my mind.

[Horatio]

Dear Topazia,

Thank you so very much for your wishes.  We have about one month's worth of work to do to get it where I would like it.  So the house has not been put on the market yet.

I am thrilled to hear that your family is doing well in Maryland.  What a nice idea to get a yearbook for your sister.  That is a fantastic idea.  Yes, she will be surprised and thrilled.  

What good news about you and Maddie.  You are such a good person to go with the flow of things.  

Before you go for an ADHD check, would you please evaluate MacKenzie's diet?  Sugar needs to be lower on the list than the first top ingredients.  If it is in the first five ingredients, do not feed it to her.  Doctors are too quick to prescribe medication for children when it comes down to how much sugar they are eating.  I am struggling with cutting the sugar out of my diet and it is a struggle.  When I eat too much sugar, then I can not focus on my school homework and studies.  So I asked my doctor and he was the one to cut sugar out of my diet.  It actually works.  You would be surprised to see how food manufacturers put sugar in everything.  We wanted to have some sausage for breakfast.  So I went to Publix and was looking at Jimmy Dean's sausage.  The regular sausage had corn syrup as the second or third item in the sausage.  So, I kept looking and they made a Natural version of sausage without any forms of sugar and I could not taste the difference.  Even bread has sugar.  Anyway, I thought I would pass on what I have learnt about sugar and my experience with sugar and being able to pay attention.

By the way, sugar comes in so many different forms.  I am researching whether or not Monk Fruit has any sugar like properties, as it is a sweetener.  It is one alternative that does taste almost the same and does not have any aftertaste.  I will let you know what my doctor says.

Other than that, I am taking a drone course and one other course at the college, so it means traveling to Las Vegas every week for two or three days.  I would like to keep learning as long as I am able.

[Topazia]

We don't give her a lot of high-sugar foods. Like she has snacks, but currently it's applesauce, last time it was bananas, stuff that isn't that bad. Her diet is higher in fat than sugar lol so it's definitely not that. Her behavior is consistent, even on days when her diet is drastically different. She also doesn't respond to caffeine (we very occasionally let her have a little bit of Maddie's soda) which is a correlated factor in ADHD. Maddie and I both experience that; she only drinks it bc she likes the taste, and to ward off headaches she'd had for years. 

Hopefully the house prep goes smoothly!

Ooo drone stuff! That's a lot of fun. We have a small drone camera we rarely use but it's fun when we do! I'm glad you're still learning. It's important to keep the brain flexible! I know I feel better when I'm working to expand my knowledge haha

[Horatio]

How are you, Maddie and MacKenzie doing?  What is happening?  Any news to report?

Regarding things here, the house is still under renovation.  I guess that I should follow that old adage, good things take time, but this is dragging on too long for me.  We are getting close to the final stage, which is the kitchen, laundry room and family room.  That makes me feel much better being close to completion.  The last month has been triple digits, too many days at one hundred fifteen degrees Fahrenheit or forty-six degrees Celsius, and that is far too hot for the workers to be outside for very long.  Plus, you do not want them walking in and out of air conditioning, because then you would have an electric bill of over one thousand dollars.  We are in the land of PG&E, and that is the most corrupt company I have ever encountered.  They change the rates that the customer will pay, depending on your zip code.  Totally incredible.  

This semester I am taking two courses, one in person and one on-line.  There is a third course that I am taking, one-on-one and that is a new and exciting experience.  It is all about alternative processes in the darkroom.  This is quite an incredible step to photographic creativity.  

Not much else is happening.  Work, school and very little time for play.  But, that is life.

I forgot to mention, hampsterboard.com is back and will be joined up to this one.  That way, whichever address someone uses, the domain names will be linked.  Yeah!!!  Finally.

[Topazia]

5 minutes ago, Horatio said:

How are you, Maddie and MacKenzie doing?  What is happening?  Any news to report?

Regarding things here, the house is still under renovation.  I guess that I should follow that old adage, good things take time, but this is dragging on too long for me.  We are getting close to the final stage, which is the kitchen, laundry room and family room.  That makes me feel much better being close to completion.  The last month has been triple digits, too many days at one hundred fifteen degrees Fahrenheit or forty-six degrees Celsius, and that is far too hot for the workers to be outside for very long.  Plus, you do not want them walking in and out of air conditioning, because then you would have an electric bill of over one thousand dollars.  We are in the land of PG&E, and that is the most corrupt company I have ever encountered.  They change the rates that the customer will pay, depending on your zip code.  Totally incredible.  

This semester I am taking two courses, one in person and one on-line.  There is a third course that I am taking, one-on-one and that is a new and exciting experience.  It is all about alternative processes in the darkroom.  This is quite an incredible step to photographic creativity.  

Not much else is happening.  Work, school and very little time for play.  But, that is life.

I forgot to mention, hampsterboard.com is back and will be joined up to this one.  That way, whichever address someone uses, the domain names will be linked.  Yeah!!!  Finally.

Hi Horatio!

Goodness, what an update. Quite a bit has happened in the last year. We're doing well. Maddie has reached a full year on HRT (hormones) and she's doing so well. MacKenzie is amazing. Doing pretty well in school with just a little bit of behavioral issues, but they're getting better. She's in FIRST GRADE!! How on earth did that happen?! Maddie ended up leaving work earlier this year due to anxiety issues becoming so intense it was making her ill just driving to work. We're struggling, but I'd rather have my wife healthy and... Here... Than try to force her to go to a place that literally had her heart rate at 160s from stress.

We're raising money to move out of Florida. With all the discriminatory behaviors from lawmakers here, neither of us feel safe. So we're trying to move to Maryland, or possibly Delaware. Those states, and really most of the NE, are much safer for LGBTQ folks and women. We have a fundraiser, but it's been slower than I hoped so now I'm worried that we won't be able to get out of here. You mentioned your crappy power company, well ours is giving us a thousand dollar utility bill because THEY failed to communicate when we signed up for a special payment plan, and of we can't get them to waive most of it, we'll be forced to spend our entire savings from the fundraiser on that... And then we will have to try to raise that money again...

I'm glad to hear you're still working on your house! These heat waves have been brutal. I see it in the news and feel so bad for people who have to work in that. And I can't wait to see more of your photography!

Finally, YAY I'm so happy to hear you got the old URL back! Did it just come back up for sale, or were you able to get in contact with who you needed to?

[Horatio]

Topazia!!!

Oh my goodness!  Your life has sure had quite a bit of turmoil and stress.  But hopefully, you will be able to see some forward movement.

The good news is that MacKenzie is making progress.  I am happy that the HRT is working for her.  That is good news.  First grade, you are right.  How did that happen?  It seems as though it was only yesterday that she was this little bundle of joy, and now she is in elementary school.  I believe that MacKenzie is a very bright young lady and you will need to keep her moving forward and learning.  It strikes me that she wants to learn and if she is not constantly challenged and learning, she becomes bored.  You have a very smart child on your hands.  I know you will make the right decisions as to how to help her succeed.

The challenges that Maddie is facing are so very difficult.  I do understand the stress that she was going though when she was going to work.  You both made the right decision for Maddie to quit her job.  Her health and well-being is most important.  Would you please how I may help you both?  Do you have a Tuesday Morning store in your town?  I have found some of my LGBTQ friends who have found jobs in those stores, in very conservative towns, and they loved those jobs and were well-received.  It is just a thought.  Another thought for work for Maddie, would be any job that has to do with the art community.  Most artists are accepting of people exactly as they are, with all of their flourishes.  

The only power company in the United States that is a true 'public utility' is in Nebraska.  All of the other's are businesses out to make sure that their bottom line increases.  Regarding the power company, I am assuming that you have Florida Power and Light.  We do on the east coast, but I do not know if they provide power for the entire state.  My suggestion, is to contact the Governor of the State of Florida.  Have all of your documents at hand, call about one million times, until you get through, then speak with one of his aides.  Contacting the Governor usually yields some positive results.  I would contact them first before paying the bill.  Just pay a little bit each month, what you can afford.  That would show that you intend to pay, but are not able to pay the full amount.

We are still working on both houses.  We would like to get the Florida house finished and then list it for sale.  I am very tired of keeping up two homes.  It will be nice to only have one place to worry about.  I will keep you posted on how the progress is going.

As far as the domain name.  A company bought it and then uses it for a while in China, this drives up traffic on the website.  After this, they say that the domain name is worth more money because of the traffic.  So, I had to pay much more than I cared to, to get the name back.  But, I have it now.  I am asking a friend of mine to link them both together so that whichever name someone types in, comes to the boards.  Wish me luck on that one.

Well, I need to start getting ready to face the day.  So, I will talk with you later.

Take care,

Horatio

 

[Horatio]

Topazia,

How are you, Maddie and MacKenzie all doing?  What have you been doing lately?  Any more thoughts on moving?  Have you ever considered moving south, towards Miami?  I believe that Maddie would love it there.  And, it would not cost as much to move there.

Not much is going on here.  Our renovation was placed on hold due to the hot weather.  We would not be able to tolerate triple digit temperatures with no air conditioning, so we delayed everything until about two weeks from now.  Plus, I would have been mosquito dinner and that is definitely not an enjoyable experience.  

Other than that, it is pretty much the same old thing over and over.

 

[Topazia]

Hi Horatio! Oof, a lot has happened in the last month here. I'm glad you were able to get the url back, but it sucks that it was basically extortionate.

We can't stay in Florida. The governor you recommended I call about our power bill is doing everything he can to make my wife illegal. It isn't safe here for either of us. (Also we ended up paying for it... But we did make most of the money back up in donations shortly after.)

Also the rental company is increasing our rent so we can't stay anyway, so our moving timeline has been moved up. To Halloween! We have been.... SO BUSY. I'm so tired. We've been trying to have yard sales every Saturday but had to call last week off bc we were so beat. We've sold our grill, riding mower, deep freezer, and my brother's guitars (to an old friend we knew would put them to good use, and we know my brother won't mind him having them). The worst part of all this... We had to rehome our cat. I didn't want to at all... I'm angry about it. But we really couldn't bring her in the situation we're in. So we gave her to another good friend that we know spoils her cats. Nani will thrive there, as soon as she realizes she's safe.

We don't have a place up there, so we're moving into my mom's garage (kiddo will be inside) until we save enough for a rental fee. We're selling as much as we can bc we only have a 16ft trailer and a van to transport. I need to sell my grandmother's wicker peacock chair (easily the most valuable asset we own besides our camera equipment, computers, and wedding rings - full size peacock chairs in good condition can fetch hundreds, sometimes over a thousand bucks! I'm asking for 200 at local furniture stores bc I know they might sell it low and they still need a profit) this week. I'm keeping the sitting set I got from her tho.

MacKenzie is excited for the move. We're looking forward to a fresh start. She has had a lot of behavioral problems with her teacher this year, so I'm hoping a new classroom with fewer students will be a good change for her.

Maryland Walmart pays more, so I'll be getting a raise when I transfer. Maddie has contemplated going back to Walmart once we're up there, with the assumption that nobody knows her as her old self, so there's no historical relationships to worry about, which will reduce her stress. Also the store we're looking at is in a state with far better culture surrounding LGBTQ people. Like, instead of actively trying to detransition her, they're making efforts to legally protect her right to be herself and seek care. 

That's a lot of writing and I'm losing my train of thought. I'm glad renovations are continuing under better weather. I'm glad to hear from you!

[Horatio]

I am so sorry to take so very long to get back to you.  Like you, life has placed some stumbling blocks in our way.

Oh my goodness!!!  How can the Governor say that your marriage is illegal when the Supreme Court has said that your marriage is legal???  This is insane!  I am so very sorry that you both are going through this.  Take a look at Miami, it is a city that endorses every type of relationship, individuality and marriage.  This Governor has lost his mind!  So, I am guessing that nothing was done about your power bill.  I am so very sorry.

Oh my goodness.  This is so upsetting and traumatic for you all.  Losing your kitty is heartbreaking.  At least she will have a good home.  I am so sorry to hear this.  Have you sold your wedding rings?  If they are not sold, contact me through email.  

Maddie will be very comfortable in her hew location, without any past knowledge of her life.  This is wonderful news.  Hopefully, she will go back to work.  That would ease quite a bit of pressure on you both.  I am so very happy to hear that Maryland will be a good move for you all.  This is too much stress for you all to deal with.

By now, you have moved, I am so very sorry to not have responded earlier.  Would you please let me know how you are doing?

[Topazia]

I am glad to see you understand the problem with the FL governor. The supreme court also said Roe v Wade was settled, and look at that now. It's not even about our marriage, it's about her being trans. They've (state medical board) already blocked trans care on the state Medicaid program (it's self pay or private insurance only), and now they've completely blocked ALL care in the state for trans youth, and when told it would result in... Let's say fewer trans youth but in the way that means someone's mother will be crying, they said on record "that's okay". I'm not exactly holding my breath that things will change for the better at ALL with him in charge.

Miami would be nice, but it's... Still in Florida.

We have moved. We are safe and sound in my mom's house in a tiny little hideaway town full of nice people. We're a five minute walk from kiddo's school and 15 minutes' walk to downtown. We've made introductions to the local economic and cultural planner and we have somehow roped ourselves into possibly starting a local theatre!

Sharing our fundraiser on the blue bird website with shares from large accounts who were game to help, has helped us reach half our original goal. We're leaving it up for now because we still have expenses related to the move that need to be paid.

Maddie is a lot happier here. We've been here for less than a week and she's been out of the house more than she has in months in Florida. Nobody knows who she "was", so there's less stress about that here. The weather is milder. The trees are colorful. The houses are so cute and look like storybook houses. The town is diverse. I was worried it'd be a fairly homogenous town but I was very pleased to see children of all sorts of backgrounds playing together and making noise in the parks. 

Housing is a *little* more expensive than Florida, but the bigger problem is there's very little in town and I'm already in love with this area so I don't want to move far. That'll have to wait a few months tho, after Maddie and I are both working steady and saving money.

I'm sorry to hear you've had some stumbling blocks in your way! Hopefully they're getting resolved, and less frightening than ours for the last month

[Top Banana]

This place randomly popped into my head today. Started lurking through and thought it would be rude not to say hello (can’t quite believe I was able to remember my password!) Seeing the familiar names brought back some nice memories!! Hope everyone is doing well. 

[Topazia]

7 minutes ago, Top Banana said:

This place randomly popped into my head today. Started lurking through and thought it would be rude not to say hello (can’t quite believe I was able to remember my password!) Seeing the familiar names brought back some nice memories!! Hope everyone is doing well. 

TOP BANANA!!! I'm so happy to see someone pop in! How have you been?

I've been alright. Very busy lol working a lot and trying to get my wife into a job soon.

[Horatio]

On 1/8/2023 at 12:04 AM, Topazia said:

TOP BANANA!!! I'm so happy to see someone pop in! How have you been?

I've been alright. Very busy lol working a lot and trying to get my wife into a job soon.

Oh my goodness!!!  I missed seeing you.  How are you?  How is life treating you?  What are you doing?  

There has been so much going on, and one of these days I will write it all down.  Overall; most everyone is doing well; some with more trials and tribulations than others; but overall; things are going the best that can be expected.

[Topazia]

Update a full year later: 

We're still in maryland! No longer living in my mom's house. I was fired from the job I came up here with just before Halloween. Thankfully Maddie had just gotten a promotion at work and made just enough that I didn't even really have to work. It was like less than 50 dollars short of covering every expense. So I took a month off to recover and then got a job at the toy store next door to our downtown apartment. We've had a friendly relationship with the owner since we moved here and I like all of my coworkers. And i hardly ever have to do the retail part, since my job is doing all the physical jobs in preparation for a new play area opening up in the back. It's so fun! I built a fence all by myself! I make a little less, but the lack of a commute means we save more than the difference in gas! 

Maddie is still thriving here, and other than one jerk on Facebook, she's had zero negative experiences from people around here. (Other than the usual rude people, but nothing regarding her personally) 

We started a LGBTQ group (like PFLAG but not associated with the organization) in town but had to stop bc we got overwhelmed at work. Now that our stress is reduced, I'm hoping we can get it started back up again! 

MacKenzie is doing good in school. Better than last year, still has some room to improve. It's definitely helpful that I'm home every night at 5 so she has a reliable evening routine. So much better than when I was working big box at all hours. 

We have friends in town we can see more often. The town is so small we can walk to school even on cold days and not be too bad. Kiddo got a scooter for Christmas so on REALLY cold days we can scooter to school and get there faster! 

It's been a crazy year and I'm so happy we came here. It snowed on Monday and we got to play outside a little. I made a tiny snowman! 

 

I will try to be more active here again. I miss this place. I would love to hear how your year was too!

[Horatio]

This move sounds fantastic.  I am happy to hear that you are all doing well.  Walking to work is terrific.  Not only because of the lack of expense with gas, but because it is so good for you.  It helps start the day with a nice stroll to work.

Walking MacKenzie to school is also a big plus.  This is a wonderful way to enjoy your town.  I lived in a town where, after I returned from a week or to away at work, we parked the car and walked everywhere for everything.  It was so very nice.

The snowman is so much fun!  I really like seeing you all have a little bit of fun in your life.  That is great.

Congratulations to Maddie for the promotion.  I am excited for her.  May she continue to excel in her work environment.

Talk to you soon.