They do take it seriously

It's been awhile since I've been in South Florida. Even though I was born here, I haven't lived here since 1983. And the hurricanes weren't as brutal, that I can recall, in those days.

But now, they take it very seriously.

I'm in Martin County. For Tropical Storm Ernesto, they closed the schools on Tuesday and Wednesday. And a lot of people are out of work for Wednesday. They respect the time to prepare and try to allow everyone a day. Course, we don't get paid ... some people do, but we don't, but anyway, the storm is supposed to come in tonight with a bunch of rain and more rain. I don't have flood insurance yet. And they won't sell it to you now. You have to wait for a specified period of time before it's good.

The gas stations have run out of gas. Publix has run out of water and ice yesterday. Walmart still has water, but I don't know about ice.

It's about 11 PM and the torrential rain and hail is starting. I have no idea if the power will hold through the night.

I am less than a mile from the beach. At a time like this, someone might say I am crazy. I might say I am crazy. On a normal day, to live near the beach is brilliant.

But God in Heaven controls it all. You must be wise when you live in a hurricane zone. Don't let your car get half empty. Keep your favorite can goods on hand. Know where your candles and matches and flashlights and batteries are at all times, not just when you catch the alert warnings. Take your shower while you still have power.

Ernesto is kicking it up a notch. I'll be turning off the computer now.

You all take care. I think all will be well here, but we are about to find out about the grade of our property. It was just finished and we weren't finished discussing with the contractors that we didn't quite agree on the grading. Tomorrow we will know more about it.

Tu tranquilo!

Miss Roxie

The evening closes as the storm approaches

The day turned out well and busy. Tropical Storm Ernesto has everyone in this little town and the towns near-by at the gas station - lines are going out into the street - and the grocery stores are out of water and ice. Guess people do want to be prepared this time! School has been cancelled for tomorrow - public and college.

I don't have Jacob tomorrow, but it isn't because of the storm. I really need some time to work on these -- should I say the word? _BOXES_. My life surrounded by cardboard. I did well over the week, I think, and unloaded about 8 boxes, and brought 5 more from the shed. (Gosh, I feel like I am starting to repeat myself...)

Anyway, Jacob's nana was going to be taking him to a place where they are putting in a new mobile home. He absolutely loves these construction sites and large trucks. What a good Nana!

My time with Jacob is passing better than the first week. He is just into everything right away, no hesitation, no boundaries, no fear –I have been doing much watching, much talking, much observing, of his actions, I should say. I spent the first week mostly observing him, and checking out how quickly he would obey my commands. Not too, too quickly I found out. But an almost 3 year old boy can get into his own world easily!

I began to speak with his parents, in front of him about things, and speak to him before a situation occurred, and have found he is so much better if he knows what is expected of him. And if he forgets, he will take the reminding into good consideration and usually control himself. Each day he has been better and better. I think he really wants to be good. That’s so helpful.

I made a nice tenderloin for Mr. B. Served with baked potatoes and broccoli which Madam Blueberry, and I love together.

I had two great smoothies today, too – Mango, banana and spinach, and Strawberries, grapes, banana and lettuce, just delicious. I’ve noticed that there is a Natural Smoothie place at the large mall here that makes Green Smoothies! I guess they are catching on. Or maybe they have also been on and I have never noticed.

So tomorrow and tomorrow night, we should have a lot of rain. I wish I had more boxes from the shed now. Maybe there will be a change of the weather though, and this storm will dissipate into nothing dangerous. Just majorly aggravating. Everyone is on watch..

Today is my anniversary

I really haven't had the private time to concentrate on my blog. Every day is filled with people at my door. Not only my family, but the fellows that are finishing up the 'punch list' for the houses - the construction people who are dotting the *i's* and crossing the *t's* as it were.

I also think that talking about boxes is getting boring. I am, after all, getting bored with it. It could make me crazy, if I allowed such thinking. But I live near a beach. It's foolish to think about going nuts, when you can drive to a beach and look at the ocean. That puts our little aggravations right into their proper perceptive.

Good news is that I found Madam B's math book and I found my Latin Program! --Since many things have disappeared into the vat of unlabeled boxes -- I didn't do such a great job on the labeling as my 80-year-old mother in law, who managed to label EVERYTHING! How cool is that!--

anyway,
I'm off to pick up Jacob at 10 today. I don't know what we will do. Or should I say 'what he will do" ...

So Mr. B overslept this morning, as he forgot to set his alarm, didn't take his coffee, even though I had it made and ready to go, and so he didn't see my little note wishing him a happy anniversary. He did call after he was in the truck for a few minutes because he knew I would be concerned that he rushed out of the house before he even lost his morning voice. He had forgotten it was our anniversary, but I'm really not a tad bit upset about that. There is just so much going on, it's silly to even worry over such a thing.

I didn't get a card or a gift for him, as things are tight, but I'll think of some dessert and a dinner that he would like.

I hope he's okay today. It's awful just jumping out of bed and heading off for a 30-minute drive when you've had no coffee or a few minutes to clear your morning head. We threw a banana and two protein bars in a cooler, and I had about 4 bottles of water on hand, so hooray on that, and I'm sure he will be able to grab some lunch. Seems silly to worry about, but I do worry about it because he is the kind of person who would never ever want to inconvenience anyone for himself, and would do without all day if the others he works with never stopped.

At the end of the day, I’m sure all will be well.

I’ll be off now to attend to my daily duties. I hope anyone reading this has a blessed and most glorious day. Focus well. Make good choices.

May God bless you today. And may you know that.

Tu Tranquilo,

Miss Roxie

Those strings on the blinds

What do you do with those? They are long and skinny and get tangled up anytime you pull up the blind. Does anyone know some magic little thing you can buy to solve that knotted up string of the blind problem? Hahhaah. I just thought this is a post about the *blind leading the blind.* Okay. Well. Not exactly. More like the blind needing a blind thingie.

Oh. Never mind.

A Meals ME-ME

I was tagged by Tim’s Mom at Bona Vita Rusticanda Est to play this quiz created by the Apprentice.

It's not the _most_ interesting one I've ever done, but I think the meme's are kind of cute. I mean, it's just a wee bit of a distraction, and not really so harmful to know that someone has a thought or a favorite thing that's their own.

What was the best ___ you ever had?

1. Pasta/spaghetti?

This was my favorite meal as a child. My mother made “the best” spaghetti sauce in the world! She said she got it out of a home ec cookbook. I remember fondly the nights she made spaghetti.

2. Best chocolate chip cookies?

Many people think mine are fairly decent and close to excellent. I love them. I use the Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe, but do not use any white sugar. I use one cup of brown sugar. The cookies are moister than most. I usually put them in the freezer right away. We love them straight out of the freezer.

3. Birthday cake?

I am not really a cake fan. I like the icing better than the cake. But. If I am going to have cake, I love chocolate with nuts and cherries. I don’t care for boxed cakes.

4. Chicken burger?

I don’t really care for chicken burgers. I used to. Now they all taste like rubber burgers.

5. Hamburger?

I don’t think I eat them now. They taste funny to me, too. Sometimes I want one. But I pass. Or I might take a few bites to satisfy the craving. When I chew meat, it always ends up leaving the taste of cardboard in my mouth.

6. Pumpkin pie?

Not a favorite.

7. What's your favorite food, and who made it?

There is a pasta dish I like at Outback. And there are two ladies at my former church, Hamen (pronounced Hey-min) Yang, and Kathy Ferrell. Anything they made was to die for! I mean *anything*. Such Great Cooks they are.

When my husband was ill and our church assigned us meals, I was so glad that those two ladies volunteered! (They know I love them!)

8. Name three people you'd like to join in.

I don’t know anybody any more. I don’t think any reads my blog now.

So I guess this is all about 'meh' .....

Being there

My moments of clarity come in the early morning hours.

I know I have but little time before the needs of those I love wake up and show presence.

Then I must answer.

My life will then revolve around them, helping, assisting, being there, listening, driving, picking up, dropping off, feeding, shopping, going, going, going.

I must answer because it is my calling.

My life would be empty without them.

All of them.

My husband,

my children,

My family,

My friends.

Even the cats.

I love them all.

Just call me.

I’ll be there.

I want to be.

DES, Inc.

My husband planned on getting a job here, but didn't expect to be employed after the very first interview last week.

The first place he went was called Definitive Electronics Systems, Inc. The hired him. He is doing wiring.

The company calls itself DES, Inc. My husband's name is Desi. We thought that was kind of entertaining.

The sky at night....

It is just so beautiful here. I love looking at the sky change while the sun is setting. Does anyone else love watching the sky change?

I'm tired of talking about moving. and boxes.

Monday I begin to take care of my nephew Jacob. I think we will go to the beach for our first assignment. Monday Mr. B looks for a job. Monday Madam B will start school. Out of a box! LOL. I'm sure her math is around here somewhere!

I haven't cooked a meal on a stove in months. I don't know if I remember how to cook. I can't remember a lot of things. I can't remember the last book I read. If it wasn't for my blog and scattered notes, I'm not sure I would remember me.

My house in North Florida still has not sold. What a heaviness that is. All the family prophets say, 'oh it will sell'. I hope the prophets are right. But God has his timing. It will all work out in the long run.

My sister in law had sold her house, and the deal looks like it's going south. Ooops~! Going South? Is "going south" an expression for things gone bad? Holy cats! I've 'gone south'. What does this all mean? Hopefully, nothing.

Our youngest cat James has gone missing. Very sad indeed. I shall post about their moving expedition adventure. I'm sure they will be holding it against us for a very long time. James is a very timid, sweet, spoiled cat. It's Harley, the cat with the mr-mean-genes, that needed to go missing, I mean, if a cat in the universe needed to go missing for all things to stay zen, I feel it should have been he. But apparently, I have been voted out of choices in these matters.

And speaking of choices, I mentioned recently that I should like to have been present at the counsel of beginnings, when it was decided upon, that cats should be domesticated. That group is probably still out there somewhere laughing at the prospects of cats being tamed by people. Not gonna happen.

Moving saga rages on

Now we are south and traveling north. I'll be glad when the settling dust lays about my shoulders.

This coming Wednesday, I should be here as a permenant resident.

My oldest son's birthday is Tuesday ~ a birthdate he shares with the son of my best friend in Tennessee -- Happy Birthday, Tim; I'll be looking for your birthday adventure post --( funny to meet someone you totally click with and their oldest son and your oldest son have the same birthday. Maybe not funny, maybe cosmic, or spooky, but, nonetheless, but *cool* above all else.)

Anyway, my oldest son is disappointed that we will not be here. I asked him if he'd like us to stay and go after his birthday, but he said no. So just a little sentimental thought popped out. We love him so much; we'll make his birthday last through the weekend.

Will tell my traveling tales in a later entry.

I will say the road and the sky collide here in a very beautiful portrait of what God has to offer in glances of his world. I love the view here.

later,


Miss Roxie

Among the boxes...

They are piled high. They are half full. They are taped, they are broken, and they are protruding with kitchen utensils. They hold all my precious photos, my memories, my scraps of paper I will not relinquish, my ticket stubs, shell jewelry the children made for me, all my little 'i love you mommy pleese forgiv me' notes', (I saved them all).

We went through some 'do you really need this?' to each other with the distress in the voice of the asker, or some other kind of tone.

I feel sadness when I see one of my schoolbook put in a box and taped away wondering how long will be it before I find it again and can get it on a schedule. I don’t want to loose the year, Madam B did so well last year.

This year I am going to need some inventive things until I can get my schedule together.

I want to talk a friend of mine into doing Madam B's yearly assessment. But what I'll plan are quarterly visits! And then on the beach in the morning, she can go over the work for that quarter and make her assessments while sipping some lovely morning drink like mimosas! And eating grapes, and strawberries and watermelon.

I have a huge large bag of things to through out, but who knows what is enough?

I'm sure I'll sort more when I get there.

We did get an extra little blessing today when we went to get the truck. They didn't have the size we ordered, so they gave us the bigger one at no extra charge. That's very cool.

Our feet are so tired. They hurt. All three of us; and our neighbor/friend/son Bobby has been helping today and will be back tomorrow. We need to leave on Friday, as the truck is due back on Saturday.

So enough of that. Tomorrow I am going to cut a friend of mine’s hair. I think I’ve mentioned her before. She has been a friend for 21 years, and this may be the last time I cut her hair. She’s homebound now. Not her style, but what the doctor has ordered. She’s already lived longer than he said she should.

We are looking to not only be totally packed tomorrow, but have the house clean because we are having an open house over the weekend while we are gone. Since the original deal fell through, we’ve got to keep going!!

Time for rest now. Tomorrow is a busy, busy, day!

Tu tranquilo,

Miss Roxie

In a nut shell

That would be a coconut shell ~

I'm here in Tally right now, going back down South on Friday. Don't know if this will be the last trip. But. Fitting a 2100 sq foot house into a 1300 sq foot house is very interesting to say the least! Our book shelves will be on the ceilings. Our beds will be nailed to the walls. And there's a train every day, every night, every, every, you can think of, as we live near the train tracks. This is the price that a poor white girl from the south must pay, if she should want to live near the beach. 3/10 of a mile from the beach.

From my front porch I can see the most beautiful blue sky. And at night, crisp and clear, you can see the stars.

What did I do this week? I interacted with boxes. Open and closed. And ran away. From boxes. I did get some things accomplished.

By the end of the week, my house was full of kids. I feed 5 kids last night. All, but my daughter, are from broken homes. Sad. So, I made pizza (from scratch, so easy) and french fries and fish sticks. Easy peasy for 5 teenagers at the last minute. (I put some carrots and dip out just for the balance of it.)

I saw The Turtles in concert Friday night. Does _anyone_ remember them? My daughter said she didn't realize they were still living. They sang so many of their hits, and the audience was full of fans because everyone sang along! It was fun. The Turtles said they were already rich and really only toured because it was fun and they enjoyed it. Their voices were immaculate, I was surprised, and they didn't mess up on one line! More than I can say for one Jackson Browne! But he is forgiven by his fans because he is still so handsome.

My sons live next door to me now. Tell you what. That was weird. It was like being on
vacation and living in the past, all at the same time. They were over for coffee and borrowing milk...but, I borrowed so much more from them, I have to admit.

I was all over the place with visiting and unpacking and doing some basic shopping and car tag straightening outting and keeping track of my daughter's new friends. And I am here to say that I thank God in Heaven that my home is one that the kids don't mind hanging out at because if my daughter was hanging out at the homes of people I didn't know, I would be freaking out.

There is so much to thankful for. My cup overflows.