a view from the bridge again

The St Joseph's River in Mishawaka.

alarming

Days go fast.  Settling into the new home.  Things are getting unpacked.  Things are getting done.  After ten days, there is finally Internet, Phone, Home Security. (I felt lost and empty without the Internet, so much nicer being connected.)  New appliances have arrived, some need to be installed (next week).  The pool goes from a green shade to a blue shade to a murky pale shade on a daily basis.  Working on getting cool clear water continues.  I am bound and determined to get the pool functioning while there is still warm weather.  Tearing out weeds, plants, trees (well one tree actually) in the yard.  Picking colors for each room, dreading removing the borders in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Oh yeah, I celebrated another birthday during the week.  Mexican food and margaritas with a good bunch of friends.  Things are coming together nicely.

blue moon, green skies

Hot and humid today.  Sun gave way to storms.  The remnants of a severe thunderstorm is still making noise as I type.  Went to the drive in for dinner, hamburger, fries, and a shake.  I had a blue moon.  While eating, Shane and I watched the storm move closer.  We finished eating, then headed out.  Drove west, to the leading edge of the storm.  First the sky was dark, turned aqua, then green.  We turned toward home.  The rain started, the wind kicked up.  Saw trees down in the road, on parked cars.  Pulled in the driveway, lightning bugs lighting the yard, ran for the door, and into the house.  Power went out, started up, rain, lightning, thunder, wind.  The skies have lightened up now, still raining, occasional rumble of thunder, the worst has moved through the area.  I wonder if the fireworks downtown will still be shown tonight.

here comes the rain

Hot and humid.  Sun this morning as I ran out to apply for a job in person (gasp).  I am not used to wearing business casual clothing (dress pants, polo, socks, dress shoes).   Clouded up over the lunch hour.  Rained.  Thundered.  Lightninged.  Rained some more.  Sun, heat, humidity.  Another round of storms rolling through.  The weekend is supposed to be hot, humid, rainy.  Summer.

shilling

Today is National Doughnut Day!  So I had to celebrate.  Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts both were offering a free doughnut.  No DD's in the area, so KK's got the business.  A doughnut (lemon cake) and a mocha.  Enjoyed it. Watched the process of making the doughnut from rising, frying, glazing, to boxing.  I was so compelled to buy a dozen just because!  Sour Cream, Blueberry, Chocolate, Original, Lemon.  Happy National Doughnut Day!

(They should give me a job.)

(No they shouldn't.  I'd eat way too many.)

(four days into the month and every picture taken so far has been of food.)

(Doughnut or Donut?)

Now I want another.

state of mind

T minus four hours fifty seven minutes thirty eight seconds and counting . . .

Amtrak.  Lake Shore. New York.  Five days.  Times Square.  Broadway.  Statue of Liberty.  Ellis Island.  Central Park.  Greenwich Village.  30 Rock.  Subway.  Midtown.  Grand Central.   Empire State.

T minus four hours fifty three minutes forty two seconds and counting . . .

factual

In 1932 Walt Disney won a special Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse.

During the production of The Lion King, live lions and other animals were brought in to the Disney studios for animators to study.

Disneyland was built on 160 acres of orange groves in Anaheim for $17 million dollars.

Walt Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon features the world's largest artificially created waves.

The Beast from Beauty and the Beast is a composite of bison, gorilla, lion, baboon, and wolf.

In Bambi, the character of Man was named one of the 50 greatest screen villians by the American Film Institute.

The Walt Disney Company invented the multiplane camera to add depth to animated films via painted backgrounds on multiple layers of glass.

*all information and images provided and copyrighted by WDC.

maintainence

I haven't mentioned things going on with the body.  I had follow ups with all my doctors and everything is going well, I am doing fine  (Platelets low as usual, but not too low to be concerned).  Since I moved, I still have all my doctors in Milwaukee.  After months of procrastination, I have finally decided to switch doctors.  I have gotten recommendations from the ones back in Milwaukee for doctors here, so I won't feel too awkward making the change.  Establishing a new doctor/patient relationship is always a traumatic experience for me, but I will manage.  I have gained a considerable amount of weight since moving and have begun making the effort to lose and get back to a comfortable level.  I have started counting/watching calories, limiting fast food and snacks, exercising a bit.  It feels good to get tuned up for Spring/Summer!

a picture a day

[Insert Picture Here]  Since the beginning of the year I have been snapping a picture a day to capture a moment of the day.  It doesn't matter where I am at, whatever strikes my interest, that becomes the image.  While out last evening, I happened to be intrigued by the pharmacy sign on the side of the Target store, so I stopped to take the picture.  As I was taking the picture, a car drove passed me.  The occupants for whatever reason found this disturbing and let me know.  I glanced at the car, turned back to the store and finished taking the picture.  As the car drove away, they proceeded to shout derogatory comments.  I wonder what I did to offend them so much.  It's only a picture.  I haven't found subject matter for today yet.

warming up, cooling down

Summer.  No, Spring.  Yet it has been unseasonably warm (no complaints here though.)  Yesterday the high temperature reached 80, warmer than places like Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Tucson, Arizona.  Warmer than places like Easter Island, Chile and Nassau, Bahamas.  It is in the 80s again today, but a cool down forecasted for the weekend.  The windows are wide open, fresh air swarming, the cats climbing the window sills.  Wearing shorts and flips just like I was last week.  Went grocery shopping last evening and froze.  Walking through the frozen food and refrigerated food sections was absolutely arctic.  On the way home, the heat was blasted in the car, just to thaw my toes.

unlike me

Tomorrow I fly.  I am just beginning to pack.  Actually there is still a load of laundry going.  I am in the process of getting things together.  Usually I have things done by now and it's a waiting game.  Not this time around.  By the end of the day I should be packed, except for the lap top, which goes in the carry on.  The weather has been warm, shorts weather this week.  Flying out to Arizona, got plenty of shorts to wear for the week.  Just in time since the weather here is supposed to return to seasonal.  Spring starts tomorrow, so I can breathe a sigh of relief, another winter passes.

every other day

Snow missed.  Phew!  Well that storm did.  Another on the way, looking to get one to three inches starting tonight.  It can miss too.  Not liking the winter all that much right now, too cold, too dreary, too snowy.  I say that every winter.  Been reading, watching TV, refereeing the cats, playing on the Internet, looking for jobs, day dreaming, keeping warm.

part of the cycle

Sun!  Two days now!  Temperatures in the forties!  Each day gets me closer and closer to warmth!  This time of year I get anxious for Spring.  To keep myself distracted, did laundry, applied for jobs, read some, watched TV.  Pizza's in the oven, getting ready to curl up on the couch and continue what I've started today.

fun facts for the day

In 1932 Walt Disney won a special Academy Award for creating Mickey Mouse.

The Little Mermaid was first considered to be made into a movie in the late 1930s.

The largest parking structure in the world is located at the Tokyo Disney Resort.

Fantasound was an innovative stereophonic sound system created especially for Fantasia.

Some of the sets used in Monsters Inc were also used in Toy Story.

In Pinocchio Honest John's full name is J. Worthington Foulfellow.

Traditionally portrayed in the theater as a flying ray of light, Tinker Bell was first personified as a winged pixie by one of Peter Pan's animators, Marc Davis.

Seven different video games have been produced based on the movie Aladdin.

*all information and images provided and copyrighted by WDC.

animals

Cat tales.

Scott (human) the handyman was over the past few days working around the house (the reason why I was waiting yesterday).  Trim around the fireplace, in the sliding glass door room, the desk room; changing out locks on the front and back doors; rehanging a closet door; framing out a window; among other things.

Boris (feline) took the noise and distraction in stride, resting in her spot under the end table "the cave", occasionally checking out what Scott was working on; getting drinks from the water dish; hissing at the other cats and me.

Rocco (feline) became frightened.  The wild child hid.  Under the bed for awhile.  In the closet.  In the sink.  Behind the dryer.  I spent the last 30 minutes Scott was here holding a trembling cat.  That surprised me.

Waffle (feline) aka walnut, waffleO, buffalo, muffin, nutter kept to her spot on the kitchen chair "the perch" most of the day, eating scraps of food, caterwauling and rolling around on the floor.  The concensus: she's in heat.

Me (human), chatted with Scott, played on the Internet, ran to the mall, bought books, didn't buy snowglobes, had a mocha, saw an accident, watched TV, decided not to do laundry and had a pretty good day.

silly reading

One of my favorite books as a child was The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. I can remember constantly checking this book out from the public library, reading and re-reading it. I loved this book, along with other books by her, Mike Mulligan and His steam Shovel, Katy and the Big Snow, Maybelle the Cable Car. I bought a collection of these books a number of years ago and will keep them in my library. I was pleasantly surprised this morning while on you tube and saw my favorite entertainment company actually brought this story to the screen. How awesome is that? I of course had to get the book out to read it after watching the cartoon!

cycle

Not a whole lot done today.  The new cat has me captivated.  She is in the "safe room".  The other two cats, Boris and Rocco can sense another cat, but have not seen her yet.  Eventually the cats will be introduced to each other.  Ran the laundry, stopped at Target, watched TV, undecided what to eat for dinner.  Just another day.

starting a new

01.01.2010.  Sci-Fi in nature, futuristic.  On the eve, rang it in at a dinner party in Goshen.  The menu consisted of homemade vegetable beef soup, vegetarian potato soup, homemade breads, potato lasagne, bean dip, and pumpkin butter cake.  Champagne at midnight.  The weather called for lake effect snow, warnings posted to last through the weekend.  Just flurries and little accumulation on the way home.  It snowed lightly all day,  played on the computer, listened to music. Went to dinner tonight, mexican, margaritas and a whiteout.  More snow.  The two or three inches grew to six, seven while dining.  A slow and steady drive home and now getting ready to close out the the first day of the year, it went fast.