Hot times on the 9th Anniversary

Last week the Library celebrated it's 9th anniversary.
I was there when the library opened...at that time I was in the Reference dept. Dianne (Children's), Susan (Circ), Mona (secretary) Irma (Reference) are the only ones still there from the original crew. We have a new director and other staff has seen several turnovers...especially recently...but happily we are still open! Budget hearings for the year are
over and the budget is set for the year...so we don't have to worry about that for about 9 months....
We had some simple decorations and we baked some 9 shaped cookies. which looked kind of ugly. Mine were pretty awful looking...but they were brownies...with frosting and sprinkles...so no one cared
At the end of the day all except one were gone.
While we celebrated the 9th anniversary...we were heating up inside...since our AC finally called it quits. It has been slowly dying over the past few months...and it finally died last Tuesday. Wednesday I was there all day...we had fans everywhere, dressed down to stay cool...but it was HOT! As long as you were right next to a fan it was fine....
Thirsday I decided I could be hot at the front desk or hot having fun with the kiddos at Storytime...so I put a few big fans in the room and we had stories about fire safety...and fall'
I read this cute one about Grandma Cat who bakes a pie...everyone has a piece, then the one piece left over is the perfect size for the six mice living in the wall...they leave behind six crumbs,,,just right for the ants...until not a crumb was leftover. After that...books about firefighters... When I got the first one out...one little boy ( who I love) said "Now I like that kind of book!" hahaha cute. I was hoping I wasn't scaring all the kids half to death...(Megan was not fond of the fire drills when she was in preschool...it really bothered her that she would not be able to take the time to get her lunch box if there was a fire... because she really liked it! )Any way all the books had a cute
little fire dog who rescued a kitten or something...
and of course everything ended well. Everyone safe, fires out...safe and sound back at the fire station.
The books all have fire safety tips in the back...(I skipped those. haha)
We ended with a short movie...Pete's a Pizza...narrated by Chevy Chase. They loved it. And then it was back out to the front desk where we tried hard to stay cool.
Next week...books about fall.

Maitland Art Festival

As I mentioned the other day I decided to head to Maitland for the Art Festival this weekend. My friend Linda was happy to join me and even though David canceled (too hard to regroup after a busy show in Kansas City last weekend)we decided to go for it.
We left midday Saturday with a late lunch at the way out of town at LongDoggers on Post RD.Our first stop in Orlando was IKEA. Last time went went over we had gone to Mall at Millenia...but ran out of time. Someone had described IKEA as sort of Disneyland with furniture and housewares instead of rides. We were curious. This time we skipped the mall and went straight to the store. All I can say is it was interesting. The prices are great...college kids or people just starting out could make their money go a long way..but you also could certainly get carried away and find yourself with an armload of things that "are so reasonable" and find yourself spending $$$$$$
but I did find these two pillows for only $9.99 each...shoot...for that price if they only lasted a few months they'd be worth it! haha The store is huge...you go in and follow the arrows on a path through the store. There were lots of people...LOTS of STUFF and it was a little weird! The even have a restaurant in the store and a grocery store attached......kind of bizarre. We had fun...but we were also ready to get out of there! hah interesting..............
It was a beautiful day and promised to be a beautiful evening...possibly even on the cool side (not really... it was pleasant...but warmer than we expected). The show is in Maitland around Lake Lily. It's one of the only shows that is open until 10:00 pm. Once the sun goes down (which is about when we arrived) and the temperature drops...the lights come on and it really is a nice venue. There was live music in a couple of locations around the lake, art of course and food and beverages...we just walked around and enjoyed the evening. I will say there wasn't anything that really caught my eye that I wished I had enough money to buy...except maybe some pretty light fixtures that had sea shells on/in the shade. Sounds like it could be tacky...these definitely were not...they were beautiful...but well out of my price range if I even had anywhere to put them. Soooo I enjoyed looking at them.
After we walked around...we headed across the street to the place David turned us on to 2 years ago...Antonio's. It was just as good as we remembered. No squash soup this time...but the eggplant parmigiana and garlic bread were good enough to make up for that. It was delicious!
We enjoyed our dinners and headed back to the hotel in time to see Alabama finish off the Gators. no big surprise there
Loved the cooler temperatures and the spot. Beautiful old oak trees all over the place, some brick roads, the lake etc. It's a nice spot in central Florida.
Next week David will be in the Winter Park show a few miles down the road...who knows...maybe we go see that one too.

The End of September

Well, it's finally fall and we got our first hint of cooler weather. we had lows in the upper 60's this morning! Finally!
Last night John had a plan for the us to take the boat over to Ichabod's Dockside in Melbourne Harbor for dinner. Reid, Amy, Jordan and Chandler were going to join us. Right about 4:00pm it started to POUR in Melbourne Beach. It let up a bit by 5:pm when I got off work...but the dark clouds were still hanging low. I wasn't sure the boat ride was going to happen.
Reid was sure it was going to clear up (and it turns out he was right) so he and Chandler came over in their truck and hitched up the boat. Amy and Jordan met up with the guys at the boat launch at the Eau Gallie Causeway. I opted to drive...I had been standing all day and didn't want to stand on the boat if the seats were all wet.
As I came down the Melbourne Causeway...I saw the boat turning into the harbor. I parked my car and walked up as the boat pulled in and parked by Ichabod's. The place was packed...but we managed to get a table outside,over looking the harbor. We had conch fritters, fried mahi fingers, and John and I split a Teryaki Mushroom Burger...Yum! I enjoyed a nice split of champagne and it was a pleasant evening!
It was a nice end to the week and the end of September. I love October!...Halloween decorations, cooler weather and everything. (at Storytime Thursday I read about apples and pumpkins and when I said the word Halloween...I had 12 little kids all telling me what they were going to be for Halloween...princess, fairy, fireman, Cinderella...I love it!)
I have come to the conclusion that being 54 is a lot like being 13-14...some days you just feel "out of sorts"...nothing is really wrong...but everything feels wrong. I had a day like that on Tuesday. I was frustrated and for seemingly no reason at all one minute I was fine and the next I felt like I was on the verge of tears. Earlier in the day we had talked about our plans for watching the big game on Sat...JOhn had come up with a plan...I wasn't so sure...and he said "It'll be fine...you'll be fine." (and it wasn't a bad plan...it just wasn't what I had in mind) And I think that's when I "lost it"...haha I was just tired of always going along with the plan...or whatever...because that's how I am.(at work...at home, etc) I said to myself...&*^% it! I took a bike ride to clear my head...and decided I was going to call a friend and make a plan for the weekend. David was supposed to be in the Maitland Art Festival this weekend. Linda and I went two years ago and enjoyed the venue...around a lake, at night...very nice...so I decided we needed to go. Linda was game...actually talked me into it...I wanted to go but wasn't sure...she convinced me we should just do it. John said "Go!" and so later today we are heading over...David or no David. There's a great restaurant right across the street from the art fest..."Antonio's" I am hoping they have the squash soup on the menu again this year!... Record lows are expected tonight (11 degrees below normal!) so it will be perfect! Low 60's...clear skies...I can't wait!...not to mention a chance to catch up with Linda...who I haven't seen in months...it's a good way to start October!And I feel much better!
This morning while Kiena and I were walking around the block...I spotted these leaves...proving that even in Indialantic Fl...there is a hint of fall in the air and on the trees!
I am listening to music (of course) as I type this and as a coincidence..Jimmy Eat World - In the Middle is playing as I type..."Everything everything will be just fine, everything everything will be all right!" hahaha

Are you ready for some football?

I have been wanting to have a party...thought about an end of summer thing...then Labor Day.. and ...we still haven't had one, but there's a big game this weekend I think Alabama is going to beat us......so maybe this is the time. I just wish the game wasn't at 7:50pm! That means everyone going to hang around all night... hahaha Even in Gainesville...those late games make for a long afternoon; too much time for the fans to tailgate. As a result, half the crowd ends up stumbling in to the game and I just don't know if I feel like putting up with that...even just having a party at home! Auburn plays SC at 3:30pm...now that should be a good match up! I told John we could invite people over to watch that game and then tell them we're going out to watch the Gator game...haha He just shook his head. well...I'll have to think about this, there's fishing tournaments the next couple of weekends (or golf tournaments)...so maybe I can deal with it...even if it'll be a late night. I have a Gator shirt and an Alabama shirt...so I'm set either way! I can change at halftime depending on who's ahead...haha

Yard Work

As you know if you read my post from last week...we had a rat living in our roof. A BIG rat....we never found any babies or other "family" members...so that was good...but once the "Eraticator" did his job...we needed to trim up the yard.
John talked to all the neighbors and lined up a tree trimmer to thin things out.
There were lots of dead palm fronds we couldn't reach. wires, etc...so it wasn't a job I was interested in doing myself...and the price of these guys coming in and clearing things out was worth every cent!
I don't think they realized the scope of the project until they got going...they filled up their truck at least 3 times! John felt a little bad...he jumped right in when he got home Thursday...hauling palm fronds, branches, etc to the front so they could be loaded into the truck and hauled to the dump.
Normally I am not a fan of drastically trimming the trees...but I didn't want any more rats moving in...so it had to be done.
I even did my share of piling, raking and pulling weeds that I could now reach. (when I weed...I like to have "an escape route" haha)...when the trees were very thick...I didn't have as much room to make a quick exit if a snake or some other creature came out
The tree trimmers stopped a little short of the finish on Thursday...but returned Friday to finish up. I woke up with a pulled hamstring or something...the back of my right leg had a serious cramp. But here's the result of the job.
All the crap is gone (including the real crap...did you notice my dog taking a poop in the picture hahaha)...there's lots more light coming in...and plenty of bugs, insects, spiders looking for a new home...no sign of any rats...and the squirrels are getting some good jumps in.... my cramp is gone...and everyone (especially John)...is happy!

Weekend activites

The weather here has been great these last few days and it's starting to feel a little like fall. It's been clear and sunny with a bit of a breeze. Still a little warm...but that's okay. Friday night John decided we needed to take the boat for a spin on the river. We called some friends and made a plan to head up to Grills for dinner. We left from the Eau Gallie Causeway boat launch and headed north around 5:45pm.
We pulled in to the dock area at Grills.
On Friday/Saturday nights...Grills attracts quite a crowd...so we were happy to walk up and find a table almost immediately. It just so happened a couple was leaving right when we walked up...perfect timing! I must add our waitress was not the the best we've ever had...zero personality...but then again maybe she was having a bad day/night. Charlie and Gayle's son had just driven in to town for the weekend; and when he heard about our plans...he drove straight up to the restaurant to meet us.
We enjoyed dinner and a few beers glasses of wine and then headed towards home. We decided to stop at Squid Lips on the way home...for "just one drink" . The place was packed! There was a band playing...and they sounded pretty good. They were playing lots of songs from the 70's...and the crowd was loving it. I have to admit...looking around at this really big crowd of people...kind of made me feel old. They were all my age or older...or at least it seemed that way...and everyone was having a good time, dancing having fun, etc...but it just felt a little strange. All I could think was it was a good thing Brenna and Megan weren't with us...they would've been ready to get out of there! haha I felt bad for feeling that way...after all...like I said they were all around my age...but I can't explain it...it was just weird! (John thinks I'm crazy when I say things like that...his response..."just have fun!"
Saturday was the 3rd annual Long Doggers 5K Walk Run. The first year everyone talked about participating...but in the end it was just me. Last year John joined me. This year John and I were in it, so were Charlie, Gayle & Dillon M and Pat Tanner. At the after party last year I may or may not have a a few glasses of wine...haha and started talking!(Vinny and I had a whole conversation about being Catholic...there was a lot of eye rolling from the rest of the table...haha...most of whom were also Catholic...they were just making fun of the two of us...half drunk having a "serious" conversation haha It was fun. I was a little better behaved this year...though I still did plenty of talking. Lots of good friends were there, they had a great band playing, food, beer, games for the kids. Kind of like a big block party. The girls worked hard...but it was a good night. (and the Gators won...always a plus!)
Dillon was the winner...don't know why he doesn't look that happy...I guess the crowd was getting to him. Our neighbor, Angela came in 2nd...she had a plan to pass Dillon in the end...but she didn't count on his last minute sprint to the finish! Walking on the sand was difficult...2/3 of the way the sand was pretty flat, easy to walk on...but there were a few deep spots and it can be hard to walk on. My whole body was hurting last night...and I walk or ride the bike every day! John and I finished in about 45 minutes...15 minute miles...not bad. John could have been faster...he hung with me...also jogged up to the Gayden's gazebo (friends watching the Gator game were having a party) for a beer....and stopped off to see Peyton T. and her friends from FIT who were having a big party at the beach. He ran up and hugged and kissed her...all her friends were saying"Who was that!!!????" haha
Money raised from the event will go to Indialantic Elementary PTO and Hoover Jr High...so that's goo too.

The next race coming up is the "Witch Way 5K" with a similar party afterwards at Long Doggers....it will be fun!
We rode our bikes to the race...rode home to rinse off and then rode back for the party...so I definitely got my exercise for the day! Today...I'm taking it easy!

The Farmer in the Dell and a Rat in the Rafters

If you read my last post...you know about last week's Storytime fiasco...hahah...everything went wrong that day...but somehow it all turned out all right. well, this week I was organized and ready to go. The room was set up, my craft pieces were cut out and sorted, my tape player was operating...and the puppets were ready to get on stage. haha

and it's ironic that we had a rat in the song because we have had some rat issues at our house this week. The palm trees around our house are getting pretty thick and they are a great place for rats to nest. ( The "Eraticator" we called told John they are a huge problem) Apparently one of these rats (I've seen them in the trees and on the wires...but never had one come in before!) decided to make itself at home. We had been hearing something crawling around in the ceiling (no attic really). We didn't worry too much...there are a few snakes around the same trees and I've seen a hawk from time to time...I guess I just hoped one of them would take care of any rats. Well....after a few days of hearing paws moving around, John thought he heard some squeaking...and decided that was it...we didn't want a whole gang of rats crawling around up there.
Now I know what these big rats look like...pretty gross...but I decided to think of our rat as "Templeton" from Charlotte's Web He was a rat...but kind of cute in the illustrations by E.B. White. haha
We cut a hole in the ceiling...the guy went up and checked things out...definitely a rat...wasn't sure about the babies...He showed John a big hole they/it had chewed in the pvc to get into the roof. (glad I didn't see that!) He set some traps and said he'd be back in a day or two. The first night...nothing in the traps. The second night John heard the rat walking around and then it fell down a gap in the wall and we could hear it thrashing around trying to get back up. It was GROSSSS! I kept expecting to see a tail or head or something coming out of the wall...thankfully...I did not! haha And better yet..once the thing finally made it back up... it promptly ended up in the trap. No more little paws walking around in the "rafters". $500.00 later...the holes are patched up, traps are still set and the entire house has been "rat proofed"! Next project is to have all the trees trimmed. John went to the neighbors on both sides with tales of rats in the rafters and they all thought it would be a great idea to trim them up! haha Actually the neighbors on one side had mentioned they were going to have theirs trimmed...the rat news just upgraded the project from "To be done" to "To be done ASAP!" haha