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

One of Those Days

Today was one of those days..........................not bad really...it actually was a pretty good day all in all....but on the other hand a lot of things went wrong. By a fluke in the schedule I ended up having several days in a row off...(no comments..Megan...next time I promise :) ) which I needed. We have been short staffed at work and consequently we have all been working extra hours. The hardest thing for me was being there for closing every night...because I don't normally work all day from opening to closing...and the patrons were starting to get me annoyed! hahaha why...because no one ever gets out of there on time, and we can't do what we need to do to close until everyone is out of the building. We give everyone a 10 minute warning...this usually jump starts about half the remaining people...then you have the others that just keep looking , talking...playing chess...whatever...and then at the very last minute come up to check out,pay fines, update cards, etc. We have a few minutes built in...but I will tell you 9 times out of 10, we do not get out on time. And Susan puts in lots of overtime....unpaid....trying to tie up loose ends and get things ready for the next day. I don't mind pitching in...but at some point you have to say...this is all we can do in this amount of time...with this amount of people. Ok...now that I got that off my chest...haha today was like one of those bad dreams you have where you are trying to get somewhere and things keep happening to prevent you from getting there.
I woke up well rested and happy that after a few days off I was starting with Story Time. I had planned a farm theme and had a variety of things planned. I had some books...."The Cow Who Clucked", "Old McDonald", "Where is The Green Sheep" and "Where's Wooly?" (a lift the flap book). No problems there.....I had a tape yes you read right...a cassette tape..haha) with Sharon, Lois and Bram singing "The Farmer in the Dell" and a bag full of puppets to use with the song. (farmer, wife, child, nurse aka Little Red Riding Hood dog, cat, rat and cheese. I also had a Hap Palmer song "Flick a Fly". Dianne had been working on a Cow windsock...and said she would make enough pieces for my group to make it too. So far so good.....however...................
When I arrived...there were no tables set up in the room...just a few stacks of chairs around the room....oh...and a motorized scooter parked right where I normally would sit. Okay...I can get past that...so I started setting up tables; and Joe came in and put the stacks of chairs away. Next I had to get the craft pieces set out. I quickly realized that there were probably not enough ready to use and I didn't feel like scrambling around to get it done...so I went to plan B. I had thought about showing a short "movie"...(from my favorite Weston Woods) Rosie's Walk" so I decided to use that and save the cow windsock for next week. Okay...moving right along.....I did a test run on my taped song...and....the tape player did not work. Nothing....and I really did not want to sing the Farmer in the Dell....hahaha so that plan was scrapped too.
I bought a bulletin board set a few years ago for Old McDonald...all the animals are pictured reading books....I thought I could have the children put the pieces up..instead of our usual matching game...one little problem....half the pieces were missing...when I FINALLY found the darn thing stashed away behind a bunch of other stuff. Ok scrap that...just read the book. So...things were not turning out as I had hoped...but I still had enough to make it work. The scooter....we couldn't pick it up (well...I thought we could...but no one else did...)but Joe got a drop cloth and put it over the thing...and I parked my chair in front of it. (Nice!) and then...we were off. When I started there were 7 children...and that was perfect because there were just enough flaps so that each one of them got to come up and lift a flap.
When I was about half way through the second book...3 more people came in...and then the woman who had left the scooter appeared to retrieve it (with Mona and her daughter in tow)...so that was unveiled and she putted out...and thankfully it really did not cause too much of a distraction for whatever reason. About 20 minutes in another mom showed up with her son and daughter. I like this mom...and the kids...but come on. I did have to laugh...one little boy looked up at them and said "you missed it."...very matter of fact. Haha We did another story
and a letter matching game and then the movie. After all the things that went "wrong" things actually went pretty well. When I walked out of my program to go to the front desk...it was chaos. We had not had a volunteer that morning....the new employee was working...luckily she was in Circ at Melbourne Library...otherwise she probably would have quit! The boss and Mona, who usually fills in at lunch time, had unpacked the courier boxes and emptied the book drop...and that was great...except there were carts and books everywhere...it was crazy. I do think it was unusually busy...but I also think they just kind of panicked. It took about an hour to clear things up and then...everything calmed down. The new gal went to lunch and Heather and I finished getting everything back in order. I found the glasses I had set down misplacedwhen I first got there...so all was right in the world.. I could see! yes!..hah and tomorrow we do it all again! But you know what...I am already cutting out cow parts for next weeks craft...my books are already picked out and ready to go, I fixed the problem with the tape player...so we may get to do the puppets next week...the scooter is gone...hahahahah... The new person didn't throw in the towel....I think I can manage.

Random....Hot topics

Summer time in Florida is HOT! That's no surprise to anyone who lives her...but sometimes I wonder why people feel the need to jog, bike or whatever to the library.,,,haha I mean it's in the 90's....why would anyone think it was a good idea to jog down?? Then rather than just run in and out...hang around for a while. I know people are just trying to get exercise and that's a good thing...but sometimes.....
We happen to have a few patrons who always seem to come in looking very drippy/droopy.....sweaty! One dad who, I can only assume routinely jogs down with his two little kids, always comes in with his shirt soaked around the armpits...then hangs out while they play over in the children's area. He always looks a wreck...he doesn't smell too bad...but I certainly don't want to spend too much time near him...haha
But our latest guy is one I'll just call "Biker Boy". I see him all the time on the bike path...either coming or going...I (assume) he puts in a lot of miles on that bike. I've never seen him in anything but his biker (as in bicycle) get up. He's in good shape for his age...but seriously...when he's strolling strutting around the library after biking around all morning...does he have any idea how bad he smells!??? If anyone is impressed by his "physique"...as soon as they get down wind...they might change their mind...haha. One day last week when he was in...a young woman came up to the desk to check out and kind of whispered to me..."I don't know if I should say anything...but there's a really bad odor over near the computers.It kind of smells like cat urine." I glanced over and among the group was none other than "Biker Boy". Lovely......... I tried not to laugh and said I thought it might be one of the patrons. She didn't know what to say...haha. The next time he came in I had to hide(really!) because I was afraid I was going to burst out laughing. At one point he came up to the desk to ask if anyone had by chance turned in his bandanna (that he wears on his head). All I could think was I would never in a million years pick up that thing...haha With as straight a face as I could manage...I told him no one had turned it in. He stopped by once again later and told us that apparently someone else needed it more than he did...be cause it had disappeared.
Now I don't mean to sound like I'm a snob or something...but come on people! Take a shower is you're going to come hang out at the library!!! It's too bad...because the guy is always pleasant...and polite...he just smells like he's been riding his bike all over town...which he has!
I can put up with our "Eddie Haskell" kid..."Hello Mrs. Anne. How are you today?"...it's the tone...something about the tone.....he's Eddie! And we used to have a guy that looked exactly like Larry's other brother "Darryl" from the Newhart show...and I know it's just me...when I start working more than usual...the oddballs start getting to me....I have to find a way to laugh so I don't go crazzzzzzzy. haha
The good news is...I have the next couple of days off...so next week I'll be ready to deal with all of them again! hahaha (and they'll be ready to have to deal with me!)