Thursday Thirteen in October Contrasts

1. Tabor debates at this time of year whether this week is THE week to pull down the winter quilt for the bed.
2. Tara debates this time of year whether the UNHCR tent will be warm enough in the coming months.
3. Tabor is thankful she has heated tiled floors in her bathroom so she is not shocked by cold tiles in the morning.
4. Tara is thankful they built the concrete bathrooms near the fence and she no longer has to use a bucket.
5. Tabor is beginning to stock up on frozen garlic, jams, and baked goods for the holidays.
6. Tara is tucking away the box of rice and spices from UNHCR under the bed to save for the winter.
7. Tabor called the garden company to blow out her garden soaker hoses today well ahead of a freeze.
8. Tara has walked several miles to the farmer's greenhouse to help with planting seeds, hoping there will be greens this winter to share.
9. Tabor loves the autumn light because it makes for good photography.
10. Tara sees her daughter playing in the sand in the autumn light and knows this picture will remain in her mind forever.
11. Tabor has gone through her closet and removed summer clothing she no longer wears to donate to the ecumenical Christian store. 
12. Tara has gone through the plastic bags of donated clothing and is relieved she found something she could wear.
13. Tabor and Tara watch the setting sun at the end of the day on the distant horizon and both hope and pray for peace.

What Happens Backstage---13 Revelations for Thursday 13

1. Having so many delicious bell peppers from the garden I just had to brag and post a photo of a stuffed pepper casserole on Facebook.  After taking it out of the oven it slipped from my hand and the casserole broke neatly into two pieces as it slid across the kitchen floor.  No shards, so we ate it anyway.  Did not post that on FB!
2. One Sunday afternoon in fall enjoying the beautiful weather and being thankful we had nothing on the calendar as we sat in bliss.  Then an old friend of hubby calls reminding him we are supposed to be at their house for dinner.  Got out my most expensive bottle of Barolo and sheep-faced made the hour-long drive to their house!
3. I have already posted about my new tutoring experience and how I am handling my fear of math.  But did not post that my student canceled (once again) our third scheduled meeting due to a bad back.  Sometimes we are our own worst enemy!
4. I got a rather large bill from the electric company, and after some research, realized I had failed to pay last month's bill.  Getting old is not for sissies.
5. This past week we had a house guest who rides a Harley, once belonged to the same golf club as The Donald and wears an earring in one ear.  If you knew us, you would realize this was not someone you would expect we would entertain.  I found I liked him in spite of my prejudices.  (He also has had children by three different women, lives on his own in the coal country of Pennsylvania, and knew hubby way back when they were both much more naive.)
6. Trying to (once again) run 3 miles a day 3 times a week even though it does NOTHING for my shape or weight loss.  I rarely write about it because people might expect I would be thinner.
7. I purchased some doughnut holes for the gardening seminar that I was helping set up last Saturday and forgot to take them, and proceeded to eat a bunch over the next two days.  I have no self-control.
8. My addiction to British murder mystery shows seems to show no abatement even when I have seen them three times and know exactly what is going to happen.
9.  Flat-earth society types give me an ulcer and I may not find it easy to be polite much longer.
10.  I get disappointed when I think I know so much and find out I know so little.  Learning will always be a passion with me and I wish this was so with everyone.
11. I do not listen to enough music in my life and should be better organized for that.
12. I have no idea who I am going to vote for in this next election, but that in reality, is not something I have not told anyone.

Thursday 13: Things I Learned or Re-learned This Summer

1. While listening to a discussion about voting on the radio my 10-year-old grandson said he knew about the poling tax history and voting tests to keep voters from voting.  As I quizzed him, he apparently did!
2. While discussing the problems with the popcorn popper at our dilapidated movie theater the gal behind the counter told me they only make 4 cents on each  ticket.  Across the bridge is a brand new theater and I wonder how this will impact them further.
3. We got 4.5 inches of rain one week and it brought down our dead tree that has been the osprey lookout since we moved here and it snapped a devil's walking stick bush and I slept through it all.  I am not the light sleeper I thought I was.
4. My visiting friends are getting old, like me, and I realized I do not have an elder friendly bathroom all the way up a 15 step stairway to the guest bedroom!
5. I actually am looking forward to the slow and lonely days of winter when I can concentrate on creative projects and reading more fully each precious novel and book of poetry.
6. Nothing is a better age gauge in your life than your grandchildren.
7. I am beginning to see how my conservative friends fear social programs as there are cheaters out there who work the system, and now I just need to help them see how the first class welfare cheaters cheat us so much more.
8. I have decided you can get tired of eating eggplant.
9. I am reading three e-books as a time, and if they are all non-fiction, and on three different types of e-readers, I can keep them separate in my mind.
10. They say getting old ain't for sissies.  It is not for anyone except sadomasochists.
11. I have sometimes hated having to get out of bed early on a Saturday to harvest produce for the food pantry.  The dear volunteer that shows up faithfully each Saturday to help us maintain the children's garden told me her 65-year-old husband has Alzheimer's.  This gardening is her break on early Saturday mornings.
12. I am almost 70 and still sometimes feel envious or insecure with situations.  I guess we never really grow up.
13. I am also still stupid brave enough to say 'yes' when I could have/should have said 'no.'

Florida Notes--Thursday 13

1. You will notice that there are lots of small dogs being walked.  They are dressed nicely.  I saw four little dogs with flowered sun-visors riding in a baby stroller.  I do wish I had gotten a picture!  It is as if you were in a circus, but then you are in some ways, aren't you?  They are small because the condos and apartments have a weight limit on pets that can live with you.  Although one afternoon I did see a standard poodle the size of a Shetland pony with fur like a big shag rug.
2. The Central Gulf Coast of Florida is very white bread.  All rich old people.  Where do all the others hide?  If you see a minority person they are usually Latino and waiting on your table.
3. Walking down the street in St. Petersburg toward the art museum you pass real estate office, jewelry store, coffee shop, real estate office, jewelry store, coffee shop, etc.  This is why I would not fit in here.  No hardware stores, used book shops, or coop grocery stores where they sell that chunky granola.  They did have a Chihuly art gallery, where you can buy something breakable for a small fortune.
4. The few times I saw a child walking by I had to stop and stare as if it was some beautiful rare bird.
5. Weather has been mostly jacket and sweater weather the days we have been here further south in Sarasota, but happily it was not the 8F degree weather with wind chill that we missed at home.  I kept everyone up north in my thoughts while I was unhappy I had not brought more turtlenecks.
6. I am getting my fill of some of the water birds.  Dreading the photos to sort when I get home.
7. I had dinner with my next door neighbors who happened to be staying near us.  They have purchased a beautiful condo on the ground floor downtown.  It has a postage stamp yard for their cat. Yes, they have lots of money.  We went to an art fair and dinner with them, something we never do at home where they live next door.
8.  Some people do not know when to stop with the self-indulgence...see photo below.

 (Yes, now with the added photo the 13 numbering is off, but I cannot seem to fix the HTML coding.  It does add up to 13.)

1.  I did see a gopher tortoise in the Florida shrubs sunning himself about 30 pounds and I was told that it was not common to see that.  I had never seen one before, but he headed down into his hole the minute he saw me raise my camera.
2. I am beginning to think all the angry white people live in the Miami area, because everyone I have encountered here on the West Coast is friendly and laid back and I remember some rather nasty folks in the southeast years ago.
3. We are half way into our vacation and I have not gotten a single good beach sunset.  Weather or other things do not cooperate, but I really had no photographic agenda anyway.
4. A tri-colored heron perched on the side of the canoe we had tied to the dock here, and pooped into the boat, and I took that as a welcome to the tropics sign.  I will post on my other blog when we return.
5. Yesterday was an all day canoe ride over some slightly choppy water between the mangrove islands with a rather cool wind.  At least the sun was shining and I think I got too much of that.   Doing the Ringling Brothers museums today.

13 things I have learned on my trip down technology lane--Thursday Thirteen--Late

Information for those who are thinking of reviewing their entertainment viewing.

1. Push one tiny button accidentally on your fancy amplifier and nothing works.
2. If you discover which button was accidentally pushed, everything works.
3. Streaming TV over the Internet to your big screen TV works fairly easily.
4. Streaming TV over the Internet is sometimes (a little) jerky depending on your service provider.
5. Streaming TV over the Internet does give you access to lots of channels, some of which you have never heard of.
6. Streaming  TV over the Internet does give you access to most of the programs but not all.
7. Streaming TV over the Internet does have some premium charges depending on the provider and is not all free.
8. Streaming TV over the Internet is cheaper than cable.
9. If you have an expensive sound system putting the dongle in your TV means that sound will not go through your nice side speakers but routed through your smaller TV speakers.
10. Using your laptop for other things while streaming TV does interfere slightly with reception.  (I never tried using a digital phone or tablet.)
11. If you have "triple play" cable the ID that appears on your TV screen when the phone rings will not appear and you have to get off the couch and see who is calling when you are streaming.
12. My particular Chromecast dongle setup must be plugged into electricity which removes the lovely wireless look.
13. Hulu is good for TV shows and Netflix for movies, so before I talk to cable I am going to have to subscribed to one or the other of these and test them.

In answer to my reader's questions:  There is ONE alternative to my cable company, but it runs the same bait and switch on costs.  I live too far for antenna reception.  I, like many of you, watch only about 5 channels off and on, none of them premium channels, and I scroll past hundreds of others.  I have a son who is a sound engineer and if I begged he would come down and help BUT he is currently fighting the flu, lives over an hour away, and has a full time job which requires the longest hours just before the holidays.

Anyway, I am feeling much better moving onto the next steps and will stop blogging about this stuff!

Cancel Those Vacation Plans as the Ship is Sinking--A Thursday 13

My universe is cracking!

This is my Thursday Thirteen, which I have not done in a long time, and which, unfortunately instead of a thankfulness list, is reduced to a reality to do list!  (As a background, before you read ahead, this house was completed in 2006 so she does not yet have that patina of charming old age.)

1. Front door knob not turning easily and slipping on the catch and door can swing open--I am sure that is how that mouse got in!
2. Large burner on range not auto-lighting - using a match
3. Deck steps to back yard are sinking to one side or I am having too much wine
4. West wall on garage is cracked near door - probably sinking
5. A few inches of taping on front room ceiling (two stories up above my head) coming loose due to a nasty storm years ago
6. Taping in guest bedroom ceiling coming loose now
7. Gate not hooked up to electricity, waiting on budget ease to hire electrician as we have given up on the solar panel option
8. Some smoke alarms need to be replaced in basement and top floor but cannot find plug-ins that match
9. Wine cooler not working (Yes, I see the small violin you are playing.)
10. Water pump has low pressure--called for repair yesterday.  Repairman came and fixed it in an hour.  We were told it could have cost $1900, but our repair was only $100.  (Thankfulness #1)
11. Gutters need cleaning badly and I will not let hubby up on the ladder and it is not in the budget for right now
12. Window in right guest bedroom does not close easily--so I no longer open it!
13. Driveway pavement needs cracks filled AGAIN!

Next Thursday Thirteen will be a thankfulness theme...I promise!(Thankfulness #2  ease on the future budget is that most of the spring vacation has been pre-paid.)

Post Script. Regarding Blogger stats:  My  most visited post (2394 visits) was this Thursday Thirteen back in September 2012... in case you are curious.