Added note

On my last blog I talked about favorite music...but failed to mention the reason I get to listen to all the great music I do...is because for years I have listened to commercial free radio...college stations...in other words...NO TOP 40! (torture!) We have had a great college station in Melbourne for many years...and I've been listening since the days when you had to turn the radio just so...and keep it at that angle to pick up the signal from across the river. Programming always included Classical, and other specific genre shows...but back in the day(haha) we listened from 10-2 for the new music/Alternative stuff. They were playing music on www.wfit.org/ long before it made it to the top 40 stations...and many of those songs/bands are still on my playlist. For a period of time the programming was all jazz...and that was good too...but eventually they came back to playing a wide range of new/old/alternative/reggae/country...you name it music...and it's a great way to learn about what's out there. Check out http://www.worldcafe.org/ on NPR for other news about music and bands, etc. NPR is also my source for news.....I can't handle the TV nightly news...everything is so sensationalized....and they drive me everyone crazy with repeating the same story over, and over and over....ie Casey Anthony, swine fludon't panic...but we'll do our best to make you panic fill in the blank...and you know what I mean. So it's NPR news for me! (and John Stewart of course...so you can laugh about the things that might just make us all give up!) There is a station that plays retro music on their Sunday Night Vinyl show...(and all weekend too) 104.1 out of Orlando. That's where it all comes from...**Used to be me hearing a song start and running to hit the record button....resulting in lots of cassette tapes with 99% of the song ,haha, and then I spent years trying to figure out who the artists of theses songs were...in case I hadn't caught it on the radio... (Google & I Tunes have really made my life easier :) Haha) Even now I almost always have music on and when I see people everyonewalking around with their I Pods on...I wonder "What are YOU listening to?

top ten

I've written about my top ten books and movies...so now it's time to give you my top ten music lists.
First I'll list what you would've found in my collection back when I was in college. *You know...how I mentioned in a past blog about how you used to get an idea about your new roommate(s) by checking out their music collection. (When I was in college...this would have been albums) Brenna has some of them in frames...but we recently relocated them from the garage to her room and it made me start thinking about that music; some of it I still listen to...other albums I look at and wonder what the heck I was thinking! haha
List back then....in no particular order:
Jimi Hendrix -Experience (& others)
Jethro Tull - Benefit (also Thick as a Brick)
Bob Dylan-Blood on the Tracks (& others)
Pink Floyd -Dark Side of the Moon (I think everyone had this one!)
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla and other Assorted Love Songs
Moody Blues- Days of Future Passed
Fleetwood Mac- Mystery to Me
Lynyrd Skynyrd -Second Helping (amongst others)
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die
Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard

Now on my I Pod ( one of the world's best inventions! I'm convinced)(I can listen to music I like all the time...anywhere/anytime it's great!) I have a wide variety of music.....but for the most part it's Alternative & lots of 80's. I'm not stuck in the 80's....well maybe one foot is
Anyway it's tough to narrow it down to just 10...but here's who I like listening to, never get tired of along with a particularly favorite song....
Again...in no real order...............................................................................................................
The Cure - Just Like Heaven
Depeche Mode - Get the Balance Right
The National - Start a War
Third Eye Blind - Motorcycle Drive By
The Killers - Mr. Brightside
The Psychedelic Furs - Ghost in You
Roxy Music - More Than This
R.E.M. - (old stuff like) Orange Crush (and new stuff too...)Supernatural Superserious
Coldplay - Talk
Talking Heads - And She Was

*runner-up include hahaha - Dave Matthews, Death Cab for Cutie, New Order, the Ocean Blue, The Railway Children, Guster, INXS, Vampire Weekend,English Beat, The Clash, The Smiths, Morrisey, The Rippingtons......and you get the picture...it's hard to limit it to just 10...which is why the I-pod is so great....you can have it all (jazz, rock, alternative, classical....all in one place!)

So...Keep Listening....and TURN IT UP!

What do you do.......

What do you do...when you have too much fish? Like we have had in the last month or so.
what you do is this:
Have lots of cookouts with your firends.( This is fun because usually it's just the two of us...so extra people add to the fun.)
Give it to your family members
Give it to friends
Give it to neighbors
Bring it to LongDoggers and have them cook it up...for you, for the cooks for the staff. And ENJOY it.
Take it right from the cleaning table and fry it up...for FRESH FRESH dolphin (mahi) fingers...Yummy!
Take the soy sauce and wasabi right to the cleaning table and have some Sushi!
And if you do that...here's what happens......................................................................
Neighbors invite you to their cookouts
They bring you freshly baked pumpkin pie! :)
You get fresh snapper and grouper, etc from Tom
You get fresh lobster tails from Mike and Denise..
You get to go eat Mahi Parmigiana at Ron's house ,with his neighbors that are enjoying his fish
And you're thankful and just enjoy all this good fish...and that fact that your husband, brother, daughter, wife, friend whoever is having so much fun catching all the fish in the first place!

Graduation Time

Several friends had kids graduating yesterday. In our BUNCO group, out of the 11 current players....8 had a SON graduating yesterday!Fortunately Mel High was able to give out all the diplomas and get a few quick speeches in before the rain came down.(*It's been a week of record rainfall...lots of thunder and lightning too) A photo in the FL Today showed graduates hopping over a big puddle on the way to the stage. Everyone was a little damp...but very happy. We went to celebrate with Brittany and her family( Mom and Dad,Aunts, Uncles,Cousins, Grandparents and Sisters )and Friends on Saturday...and the rain stayed away, which made for a nice, cooler than usual afternoon/evening.

Sunday it was time for Dillon's (and his friend...also Dillon) graduation party. The street was full of cars when I arrived (after the start)...lots of friends and his grandparents, Auntie, Uncle Ricky and cousins were all enjoying the food and fun. Caitlin made a nice video slide show for her brother...and a good time was had by all.

Dillon and Gayle at the end of the party

Naturally there was cake..(at both parties)....the best part! After all what's a

graduation party without sheet cake!

Battle of the Big Mouths or Just Another Friday Night in Indialantic FL

Two weekends ago...John, Ron, Mark and Al all fished in the SISA tournament. They decided that in addition to the regular tournament they were going to have their own "Battle of the Big Mouths" Ron isn't that loud...but anyone can tell you John aka Boomer, Al and Mark can be!
The "rules" were that each crew had to have at least one female on board. Al had his girlfriend, Ron had Misty, John had Courtney (and Reid and Chandler) and Mark.........well there's a little discussion ongoing about whether or not Mark really won...since he did NOT have a female on board. They did get the biggest fish...and he gave the trophy to his fishing partner (and former boss) J.D. Well, there wasanother side bet was between Courtney and Al. (Courtney works part-time at Longdoggers)

Ron , Peyton, Chuck, Anne, John, Pat, Mike & Denise enjoying the fun
The deal was whoever caught the bigger fish got to make a t-shirt for the other one to wear. As you can see Courtney won the bet...so Al had to wear her shirt. Last night was the night. So we all had to gather together to watch the event! Mark made the sign for the side of the building...and John got the other two Longdoggers restaurants to put it up on their signs as well. (Not part of the bet...but Al was a good sport)

John Ron Mark

COURTNEY aka THE WINNER

As usual since it was Friday night...there were many other regulars there. Shortly after we all arrived.....the next table was occupied by our good friends Brian & Maureen Hogg, son Kevin & his daughter Dakota, Stephanie & Clay and two of their girls. When Chuck and Pat left...Heather & Chris,Julia and Ellie arrived...so we had a great time all evening. Lots of laughs. Everyone gave Mark (Lynn was there too) a hard time about the win...especially Al! They are already working on setting up the next contest...so the trophy can go to the next winner.( In the meantime...J.D. was tickled to get the trophy and he doesn't know about the controversy )

Sign facing A-1-A

Courtney presenting the shirt to AL

BY the way...none of these guys won anything in the actual tournament...John had engine problems (at 30 miles out)(it all worked out...but put a damper on the whole fishing trip!)

Mark was one of the first boats in...so he was on the board for a shortvery shorttime.The story is theyJ.D. dropped their fish into the silt at the weigh-in spot Mark had to jump in and wade around in knee deep muck....finally two guys jumped in the water and one of them managed to retrieve the fish!Al had one problem after another with his inexperienced crew...including a hook through his finger and Ron and Misty, while trouble free... just didn't get any big fish. Every boat caught fish...just not winners. **However...our niece's husband Duane...won the king fish category! So we knew a winner!**

Refreshing Holiday Treat

Fruit Parfait Slushy
(makes about 1 gallon)

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups water

1 (20oz) can crushed pineapple/pineapple tidbits in juice

1 (10 oz) package *frozen strawberries

1 (12oz) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed

1 (6oz) can frozen OJ concentrate without pulp , thawed

2 (1 liter) bottles *lime-flavored sparkling water

Heat sugar and water in saucepan over medium heat 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and reaches a syrup consistency.
Process crushed pineapple, frozen strawberries,lemonade concentrate, oj concentrate, in batches, until smooth. Stir in sugar syrup and freeze for at least 8 hrs
Remove from freezer, let stand about 30 minutes or until mixture can be broken into pieces. Stir in sparkling water and serve!



* A couple of notes....I usually double the recipe.. as it keeps the punch bowl full for a long afternoon. You can use frozen strawberries...or if like me you have your own fresh frozen strawberries (less sugar) you can use them...it doesn't really matter. The OJ without pulp is a matter of preference...I haven't found it to make that much difference either way. The blending is the messy part...but it's worth it! Blend and pour into punch bowl. I have a Tupperware punchbowl with lid...it works perfectly!

I tried this recipe a few years ago at one of our Southern Living Luncheons and it made it into the permanent recipe file! It is a little messy to mixnot too hard to make and it's good as the recipe calls for with sparkling lime-flavored water...or you can add Ginger Ale or for the mature party goers(hahaha)champagne! Kids enjoy scooping the slushy concoction into their cups and it's full of fruit!

Try it!

:D

Memorial Day Weekend

Thursday was the last Storytime of the year...until we start our Summer Programs...so we had to have a little party. My mother always did something special for us on the last day of school (when we were little anyway),,,maybe it was just a special treat...like an ice cream bar or something out of the ordinary.( The usual treat being a cookie...the kind that come in a pack of about 100 for $1.00... you know....the inexpensive ones...but hey..at least we had cookies!) The point is...she would make it feel like a special day...just by doing a little extra something. So in the tradition...I can't let a holiday or special day go by without recognizing it in some way. For the kiddies it usually means some little treats and what could be more fun then having bowls full of little snacks...mini marshmallows, goldfish, teddy grahams and gummi snacks to pass around and being able to help yourself! The kids love it. I try not to go crazy...haha . I keep the snacks reasonable and I always warn the parents at the beginning...in case anyone wants to duck out before the treats come out...so far no one ever has left.The kids love being able to choose what they want and spooning out a bit of each treat.

We had these stories to go with our snacks:

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion (I love Harry!)

How Will We Get to the Beach by Brigitte Luciani (cute book the kids love it)

All You Need for a Beach by Alice Schertle

and Cosmo Zooms by Arthur Howard (this is a really cute story about a dog and a skateboard...it is always a hit!)

(For years I've been using my Hap Palmer songs with the kids...first the record...then the tape...now the CD...it's fun. when I don't do it...they ask for it! I also use Raffi a lot!)

And we had to have our song to move around to...and it was my old favorite Hap Palmer-Easy Does It...the Beanbag Song .

details

Here is the missing photo from the last post...I hit a button and the photo diappeared....to who knows where.....but I just downloaded it again....haha. (It's similar to when I was in Geometry class...one time I had the right answer...but the teacher wrote...".I have no idea exactly HOW you solved this...but you did so you get 1/2 credit"....sometimes that's how I feel on the computer...I get there eventually...just maybe not the most direct route! Anne & Moe

Okay...so I am fairly new to this whole blogging thing...and am learning or not

as I go along....so sometimes the spacing is off...or picture order isn't exactly how I envisioned it...but I'll get there. I did discover that when you click on the individual pictures they enlarge and sometimes you can really see the details a lot better...(.I can hear my kids laughing at me....) this is probably a basic thing...but I really don't spend that much time on the computer!

The other thing I need to clear up...haha is crayfish? or is it crawfish? The spell check corrected me when I put crawfish....so I changed it...when I looked it up in the Oxford American Dictionary....it said crawfish-a crayfish.....so whatever it is...Chuck and his brother were cooking them and we were posing with them eating them!!!!and a good time was had by all.

Hail, Hail the Gang's All Here!

Posing with the food.....I didn't eat it...only licked my fingers!

Fresh batch!

Races

OOOOOOOOh that's hot!

Anne and Moe

Paul and Moe

John -Anne - Brenna

Chuck and Brenna in between batches








Anne and David in background

Ready and waiting

Colorful!

Betty Crocker would approve!

Cooking

We used to have a doorbell that played that tune...and every time we heard it , it cracked us up.It played several other songs...depending on the occasion...but that was our (Megan's) favorite. This past weekend was shaping up to be the usual not too exciting weekend...when Brenna decided at the last minute to take a quick trip home for the weekend. We picked her up on Friday night at 9:40pm...and after we drove back to Melbourne...John went to bed and Brenna and I stayed up and had a glass of sparkling wine and talkedI talked, Brenna listenedSince John is usually asleep fairly early...I don't have anyone to talk to...except the dogs...haha....so it was nice to catch up with Brenna

Saturday we were invited to our friends annual Crayfish Boil...always a good time...and more fun with Brenna joining us. Chuck had 125 lbs of fresh Louisiana crayfish shipped in...and along with artichokes, onions,corn, mushrooms,hotdogs(?) it all went into the pot. Lots of cayenne pepper and other hot stuff too. Fortunately...for wimps like me...John brought some wahoo, mahi, tuna, and snapper to fry up. Of course there was lots of other tasty food...homemade cookies, cakes, salads, salsa...yum yum yum! Enjoyed talking to everyone and sampling the food...I can't eat the hot stuff...so I only had one mushroom and licked my fingers after I POSED with the two crayfish...haha. You can see from the photos some of the people's expressions saying " ooooohh that's hot!"

The best part of the afternoon for me was visiting with my brother David ( he lives two doors down from Chuck and Pat), my brother Paul came with a good friend from Winter Park...Moe(Maurice). Moe was a good friend of my sisters...Jenifer and Elizabeth when they were at UCF.

He has been at a few parties we've had...and last time I saw him was 2 years ago..when Jen was dying...so it was a pleasure to visit with him at a party!

Sunday I called to wish my niece Anna a Happy 18th birthday and Happy Anniversary (27 yrs) to Ellen and Erik. There is always a lot going on with them at the college (SUNY Cortland) this time of year so it was great to catch them at home! (later they attended a Lacrosse match...the Red Dragons are going to the finals! at Gillette Stadium!) That evening I called and caught up with Martha in Hawaii. We ran in to Mark and Lynn at Longdoggers at the end of the evening....so I saw or talked to the whole gang before the weekend was over...with two exceptions I DID talk to Megan...missed having her here,,,and Elizabeth was MIA. haha more than likely sitting on the sidelines of a field somewhere watching one of the kids play softball or lacrosse!

It was a great weekend after all.

Bazooka Bubblegum

The gum story from the other day got me thinking about a funny story from when the girls were playing softball. (a long time ago......) John and Bob James were coaching the girls(8-10 year olds...I think) and they all had a lot of fun. One Saturday...John decided all the girls should have some bubblegum to chew....help them get in the game or something.....maybe it was one of the girls who came up with it...all I know is after a trip to the concession stand everyone on the team had a big piece of gum in her mouth! One girl on the team...Brittany L. was really more of a dancer...but decided she wanted to play ball that spring. Her mom was a little reluctant...but decided they would give it a go.( Her Mom was a character...always had some funny remark) Anyway...Randi arrived at the ballpark and noticed everyone chewing....and said"What are they all chewing on?" John assured her it was only gum....she laughed and said..."Okay that's good. I was going to have to draw the line if it was tobacco.....I had to be talked into this whole softball thing as it is!" We all got a good laugh. Brittany was actually a pretty good softball player...but in the long run ended up a dancer...and a good one too. As for the gum...the Bazooka worked it's magic and the team won the game.!

smack

Okay...do yourself a favor...or rather do everyone around you a favor....if you chew gum...don't smack it! or crack it...and chew with your mouth closed! Yesterday I had a young boy (with his Mom and sister) in the library. He wasn't making any noise as far as talking goes...but I had to listen to him smacking on his gum for a half an hour! Aggggh! I was about 10 feet away from him...but loud and clear "smaaaack"every few seconds....if I could hear him surely his mother could hear him. He just smiled and chomped away.( I was so glad to see them leave!) Then I had the lady cracking her gum...she was in the next room over....it was like Chinese Water Torture...only instead of the periodic drip...it was the periodic "Crack" or "snap" or "Chomp" and "smack". Now I've been around my share of gum chewers in my day.........I was in the College of Physical Education, Health and Recreation at UF...and there were plenty of gum chewers in the mix...sometimes I just had to get my own gum and chomp along with everyone else...you know...if you can't beat them...join them. Seriously...try concentrating on a test when everyone around you is chewing gum...it can drive you insane...unless you just get your own gum and listen to yourself chew! hahaha I do remember times when my mother would be trying to give up smoking (rare times) (maybe she was pregnant) anyway...if you gave Doris a piece of gum..it was all over....she would crack the gum all day long. I will never forget my Dad coming home one time...he looked at me and who ever else was in the room (a few of us) and asked "Okay, who has gum?" we all looked at him and started to reply...then he finished up by saying "If you do don't give any to Mom...she's driving me crazy!" HAHAHA! I don't remember my dad getting annoyed very easily...but the gum cracking was slowly driving him crazy...just like it still does to me when I hear it. So like I said do everyone a favor...chew with your mouth closed!:) Have a great day!

At the end of last week I was having one of those days...I just felt off. I couldn't figure out why...but everything was making me feel out of it. So...I decided to snap out of it and I went and donated some blood. They've been calling me for the last few weeks...supplies were low and I decided...what better way to make myself feel better than to go do something for someone else.

(Sometimes my iron is a little low...but this time it was fine so I was good to go.) After that I went shopping...made a few stops along the way and laughed at myself when I got home and started unloading my groceries. I was definitely having a case of PMS (minus the M)......the hormones or lack of were doing a number on me and without really thinking about it I purchased ice cream, candy and decided what the heck...I need some Ice Tea! I used to have ice tea available at all times...as many of you know.....but decided to try to cut back a little. I no longer make my regular trips to Chick-fil-A...(I really would drive out to Palm Bay for a gallon!) not as close...but usually cheaper in the long run than a trip to the mall! hahaPublix quit brewing their own a while back...and the new stuff just isn't the same!

I could brew my own...but it's never as good...don't know why..(.the type of tea?) Anyway... I've done pretty well.. I would only have it when I went out to eat.. I think I wanted the tea more than the dinner sometimes! Occasionally I've had a cup of coffee in the afternoon...something I hardly ever do! So...I decided to treat myself to some good tea .(and I have enjoyed it!)(John does too...I think I got him hooked!)

Anyway...the week turned out to be a pretty good one..Sunday the guys cleaned the boatload of fish and we had a great, impromptu party, Monday....John did the program for me it went very well AND...the boss liked it, Tuesday I filled in at the Reference Desk and it was uneventful(always good!)during the week I had several "little friends" (as my mom used to say) come into the Library with their parents and proudly point out that I was "Librarian Anne" who comes to their school and reads and does fun things with the class....but the best thing of all...on Thursday one grandma who comes to Storytime with her grandson told me she loves to bring him to Storytime because she loves to listen to me tell stories. She told me I reminded her of a favorite teacher she had in 1st or 2nd grade who read to the class and that she knows her grandson likes to come...but she enjoys it as much as he does. Now that makes me feel good!

The new fish is already hanging on the wall. John loves it. An it fit in nicely. And it's appropriate because the next day the guys went out and caught thier limit of dolphin (mahi).

And after cleaning them for 5 hours on Sunday.....there was only one thing left to do and that was have a party. All the guys invited a few people and we cooked up some fish. It turned out to be a lovvely evening and we had lots of great food...even though every thing was spur of the moment. There were about 18-20 people in all...and we had the pool, hot tub, music and food for all to enjoy. It was a lot of fun.

Ron and Anthony with the "catch"

This is a photo of the Melbourne Beach Library....where I work. Check out the sign...John's program he did for me was posted on it. John agreed to do a slide show for me...in an attempt to attract some younger people to the Library. We have lots of programs for young kids....and plenty that appeal to older (retired) folks...but we just don't get many young people for programs......so I came up with the idea of a surf themed program. John agreed got talked into showing his old Costa Rica slides from the 70's. I got to make the playlist...for the background music.....and that was great fun. I think everyone liked the slides and the music. We had about 30 people....and an interesting mix...some I had never seen before...and some that didn't look like surfers at all. (One group of three looked like they just came from the Yacht Club....they surprised me the most. )They really enjoyed the show. Chatted with some of the other people, looked at the maps and shared some stories. Had some old friends there as well,some guys John just recently traveled with, (and their wives) and a few (5) young adults. One of them saw the projector and looked at John and said..."Oh , it really is a slide show?" We laughed...also laughed when John asked the group when they last saw a slide show...my brother David replied"In the 70's!" Ha ha but it was a lot of fun. My boss was thrilled with the turn out...free program and people came! John was his usual organized and early self...and Cindy was quite impressed. So all in all it was a great night and the best thing is I got paid to sit and enjoy the show with a nice group of people! A lot of people told us they might come...and of course not everyone could make it...which is understandable...but I will say I really appreciate the ones who did make it....Gayle T., David, Courtney and Brittney, and Richard (briefly). I know John appreciated it too.

More Founder's Day

View from out on the pier

Some more photos from Founder's Day (above) David relaxing

Raft Race Course - Al's raft from Longdoggers won the race. (Sorry...no photo.)

Raft heading home

There were fishing contests, raft races, arts and crafts, a talent show for the kids (right next to David's booth he was thrilled! and a hokey band...they weren't very good.. ( the leader singer...was a bit much....but better than I could do so.....I suppose I shouldn't comment. The farther you got away from the gazebo...the better they sounded. :) An Ice Cream truck, Bounce Houses and all kinds of fun kids stuff....the kids in MB must dream about this day...running around the park with every other kid in town!It's fun to watch.

Melbourne Beach Founder's Day - May 2, 2009

Starting area of walk/run down by the pier

Looking out at the river

Start - Finish area

Looking down the pier. We've watched many a sunset here over the years!


#626

Area near Town Hall
Melbourne Beach Town Hall - Fire Station - etc

I started today a little earlier than usual....I may be up at 7:00am most days...but I'm not usually out! But today they had a 2 mile Walk/Run as part of the Founder's Day Celebration that was also a fundraiser for Mel High Cross Country...so I decided it was worth the extra effort to get going early. I walked...and it was a beautiful morning. The course started at the Melbourne Beach Pier and went about 1/2 mile along the river front before we turned off into the neighborhoods of Melbourne Beach and then back on to Ocean Avenue. I walked two miles in 29.06 minutes. (Not too bad...just walking...no jogging for me.) After the initial start...the runners all broke away from the pack...leaving us walkers behind. There were a few women jogging/walking near me...but when they just walked.... I passed them. After about the 3/4 mile mark...I pretty much had open road ahead of me.. except for one walker (she ran a little at first then started walking .... so she passed me by plus she was taller....so she had longer legs....haha,,So I got my walk in for the day and now I have the rest of the day to go hang out down at the craft show/art show and chat with everybody. It's going to be HOT(90!) today...but it's beautiful...so I'll take the heat. David has a booth set up so I can hang out under his tent. I have a couple of other friends in the show...MaryAnne has Driftwood/Shell Art and Chris will be selling her jewelry. I took a few photos before and after the race....I'm sure some of the more serious competitors (there were a few...I get a kick out of them...strutting around) wondered why I came with my little shoulder bag, camera, I-pod, visor and sunglasses. Ha...ha! (who is that?! looks like a tourist!...actually I'm sure no one even paid attention...) It's all in fun!