Monday, January 30, 2012

Good Morning

Good morning sunrise.

Good morning Sally and Mike walking hand-in-hand on the beach.

Good morning Mermaid Michelle.

Good morning Michelle and Alyssa.
Good morning friendship.

Good morning heron.

Good morning fog.

Good morning stucco.

Good morning everyone.

What are you saying good morning to today?






Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Lunch on the Water


This is the view from Harpoon Harry's.

We boated there this afternoon and
sat on the outdoor deck to eat.

The clouds and sky were so pretty!


Friday, January 20, 2012

Lucky

My mom's birthday is this coming Sunday.
She would have been 86.

One thing we loved to do together
is go to a casino.
Once a year we'd drive
to Foxwoods in CT.,
stay overnight,
and play slots
to our hearts' content.

We even managed to go
when she was fighting cancer
and it cheered her up so much.

Here is a poem I wrote about one such trip:

Lucky

When we went to Foxwoods
a few years ago,
my mom had such a successful
time playing the Lucky
Seven machine

I remember the grin
on her face when I
found her in the non-
smoking casino
standing like the Statue
of Liberty with her hand
up flagging me down.
And there were
the three red sevens
lined up like soldiers.

After she was paid her 1,199
coins,
we meandered around
other casino rooms
and eventually settled
at a different bank
of machines: she in
front of a Lucky Seven
and me a 5X Diamond
a few seats away from her.

I can still remember
her calling out to me
every time she won:
the three green sevens,
the three purple sevens,
and twice more
the three red sevens.

Everyone around her
was cheering her on.

The only ones she
didn’t get were the pink
sevens that paid 500 coins.

Just before leaving
we walked through
one more time
and she put a $20 bill
into yet another
Lucky Seven machine
and, of course, this
time she got the pinks.

I should have known
then that this winning
day was going to be
our last good time
together at a casino.

But there was no message
in the clanging bells
announcing her success
that less than a year
later she’d be in the hospital
too weak to even
put her own cannula
into her trach
never mind a quarter
into a Lucky Seven
slot machine.


The other night my sister
texted me:

"Maybe we will be able to
go to Immokalee? For
lunch and a little slots in
honor of mom! I know she
would approve."

"Excellent idea! Let's do it!
I texted her back."

So, with mom in our hearts
we went yesterday.

My morning started with this.
It felt like my mom's spirit
filling me!

We entered the casino
with high hopes even though neither of us
is particularly lucky like our mom was.

And we did great for awhile
but, eventually gave it all back.

But, that's okay.
We both felt lucky,

lucky to have the chance to spend the day together
lucky to have a hundred extra dollars to waste,

lucky to have had our mom.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Good Morning


I love waking up into an orange world. I quickly grabbed my bathrobe and phone then went out on the porch to take some pictures and let that light carry me into the day.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

An Evening Walk


I am still enamored with Florida sunsets!

And I'm loving this new app!

Playing Around


Just experimenting with a new app called Picture Show. It allows sharing to a Blogger account.

These poinsettia plants are still going strong on our porch.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Two Beaches

On Monday we went to Cayo Costa.
Here, Kylie and Danielle are searching for cool shells.

Cayo Costa can only be reached by boat so it was practically deserted when we were there. My husband and son sitting in the shade talking away.

Kylie's sand castle

Yesterday we went to Ft. Myers Beach and Kylie had fun

turning cartwheels on the sand.

And Grammy snapped away in between the umbrellas and people.

Two beautiful beaches.
Two beautiful days with family.

Monday, January 9, 2012

A Little Story

Between sunrise

and moonrise


a little girl and her grandfather


went fishing.

The end.



Go to SkyWatch Friday to see more skies from all over the world.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Fore!

Kylie and I went mini-golfing at Fish Cove today.

She played better than me!

Fun!


The sun was hazy and low in the sky so when Kylie got sick of me taking pictures of her, I took one of Charlotte Harbor.


We played the easier eighteen holes today but will go back for the more challenging ones soon.