The Dangers of Early Halloween Shopping

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The Dangers of Early Halloween Shopping

Well, just a few more weeks before those little Halloweeners will be flooding through the gates of the Raquet Club. There are more every year and a few years ago we started all contributing candy and making up bags for each trick or treater and handing them out at the gate to the club. So, I made my trip to Walmart and bought 7 big bags of miniature Snicker bars and suckers, as well as a bag of chocolate chips so I could make cookies for my neighbors who are always bringing me shares of their suppers. I then made the mistake of bringing the Halloween candy into my house.

Instead of baking cookies, I  took a little nap, but awakened to that candy calling my name. I resisted for about 15 minutes before I tore a corner off one of the Snickers bags and had a single miniature Snickers bar––about one inch square.  I sealed up the bag. Tried to take my mind off it. Then felt suddenly thirsty and on my way to the water jug, had to pass very close to the chair the shopping bag holding all the candy was on. The bag that had been opened seemed to be saying something to me, so I leaned closer. “Eat me!”  Shades of Alice in Wonderland. I opened the bag and had just one more tiny piece of chocolate, caramel and peanuts before I called my next door neighbor and asked if I could bring the rest of the candy over to his house until it was time to take it down to the clubhouse to pack up the bags.

After he stopped laughing, he admitted it wouldn’t be much safer at his house. “You would eat my candy?” I queried. Shocked.

Well, no, he admitted. Probably not.  Were there Andes mint bars involved, he asked? No way. I don’t believe in mixing mint with anything but chewing gum. So he agreed and we met in the street outside our houses for the hand-over.

So, end of story until this Skype exchange between ForgottenMan and me.  By the way, the chocolate chips were still unopened in the cupboard. Cookies still unbaked at the time of this interchange a few minutes ago. The comments to the right are mine.

 

Forgottenman says I “might wanna” explain that an r&c is a rum and coke and g&t is a gin and tonic. I think he’s underestimating my audience!!  And thus go our evenings!! Somewhere I’m sure people are discussing great thoughts. Not so this evening with us.

Tweaking the Backyard

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A vine on the post supporting the terrace roof had grown so big that it totally blocked off access to the sidewalk from the terrace. Going down to turn off water to the pool, as a result, was a tricky and dangerous business, especially at night, when I had to step off onto an uneven area of dirt and plants.  I also had a whole set of lawn furniture I couldn’t use because the yard incline was too severe, the back legs sunk into the dirt, and I tipped over backwards when I sat down on them. Lastly, the junction of the two brick pathways had become a favorite digging site for the dogs.  Solution? A little brickwork and a few plants. 

Please click on first photo to see captions and enlarge all photos.

The maestros at work.
Wedding of the ways.
Parting of the ways.
Fourteen small shrubs and a few smooth stones filled out the junction
Payday makes for a happy maestro
I meant for this to be a bit more irregular. I can’t decide if it looks more like a footprint or a peanut.
A place in the shade. Scrabble, anyone?

 

(This post was done at the request of Forgottenman, who has been dying to see what is going on.)

Hibiscus: Flower of the Day, Oct 18, 2019

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This beauty popped up yesterday..not quite unfolded. One petal to go.

For Cee’s FOTD

H-e-e-e-re’s Donald!

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samantha-sophia-8bLGxhsR8sY-unsplashImage by Samanta Sabina on Unsplash, used with permission

H-e-e-e-re’s Donald!

Our nation’s growing jittery. It seems our ruler’s broken.
In the land of liberty, freedom is just a token.
Surrounded by his family, his fumbling words are brisk.
He issues crazy edicts, putting the world at risk.
As he pens crude letters to men of more distinction,
we cower in our houses. fearing mass extinction.
He poo-poos all our scientists. The climate’s doing fine.
Who cares if the whole planet is headed for decline?
Glaciers swiftly melting. Forest fires raging.
He overlooks the hurricanes, intent upon his caging.
Children are the biggest risk, so he sends them packing.
Makes military decisions with very little backing.
On his situation comedy played on the largest screen,
he spins out the same old story: our country has grown mean.

Prompt words for today are broken, ruler, jittery, brisk and family.

People in Politics Today

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Lydia’s blog post is the best assessment of the current impeachment process facts that I’ve seen to date. If you have become as bogged down with details as I have, have a look. It is all here, organized and easy to read. There is a link to the whole story below.

alotfromlydia's avatarA lot from Lydia

This morning we learned the shocking news of the untimely death at age 68, of Congressman Elija Cummings.

Representative Elijah Cummings, was a Democrat from Baltimore, a civil rights advocate who became one of the White House squatter’s fiercest opponents in Congress and was frequently on the receiving end of his racially undertoned barbs. It is unfortunate Cummings won’t see the end of this lawless and illegitimate administration.

Speaking of our commander in thief, his excuse du jour to justify his decision to withdraw troops from Syria, and his part in the slaughter of the Kurds—’Democrats want us to stay in the Middle East forever, guarding other countries’ interests. He failed to mention that he simply relocated the troops from Syria, where they were assisting our allies, and containing ISIS, to Saudi Arabia, where they’ll now protect Saudi oil.

POTUS also leaked a letter that he wrote to Turkey’s President…

View original post 924 more words

Hop Scotch (Don’t Worry. Be Happy!)

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                       Click on photos to enlarge.

 

T

                                  Hop
Scotch

                      “How green is blue?” the child asks,
“What is the taste of pink?”
                        A prodigy koan-master
 with a novel way to think,
                        such problems keep a child’s mind
engaged in matters other
                         than all the daily problems
of a father or a mother. 

                         No spider ever stumbles
when spinning out her strands,
                         for the feet she walks around on
are really only hands.
                         No specter of a problem
ever plagues a goat.
                          He simply feeds upon the world
and lives his life by rote.

                       And so it is with children.
They go from thing to thing
                      with no worries of the outcomes
that their acts might bring.
                       They leave to human adults
the worries of such things
                        and simply live with pleasures
that every new day brings.

Prompts for today are “How green is blue?” spider, stumble, specter and goat.

Water, Water Everywhere

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Click on any photo to enlarge all.

For Granny’s WWE Challenge

Unfortunate Signage: Last Apartments

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Last Apartments

The Lake Chapala, Mexico area where this apartment building has been going up for over a year is home to the largest group of American and Canadian expats in the world—most of them over 60 years old. That taken into account, I don’t think its sign sends the correct message to their targeted renters. I’m sure the name “Last Apartments” is a rather unfortunate translation of “Ultimos Departamentos,” and for the superstitious, it is definitely not a great selling point. (Most probably, their intention was to convey that they will be the latest or best in design, but the translation from Spanish to English leaves the impression that no renter will be leaving the premises alive!)

Please post your own example of unfortunate signage on your blog, pingback to this page and use the tag “Unfortunate Signage.”

Blue Orchid: FOTD Oct 17, 2019

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IMG_6411

Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Asparagus Fern: FOTD, Oct 16, 2019

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They might look delicious, but don’t try to eat them. The berries of the asparagus fern (not really a fern) cause stomach upset and the foliage is a skin irritant. Enjoy the sight of them, but avoid other sensory usage.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day prompt.