J'existe!

Gainesville

Ah good-- your pictures finally posted, Sandy. Was going to suggest you send them to me in email and I could upload them. Nice, and a great colorful image of Mom enjoying the view. Love the bare legs and sandals!

If the crab fest and light bulb changes are at the top of Thea's list, I'd say things are fairly well under control. No doubt other issues will surface over the next few days. Do keep the reports coming! Very glad to hear that Angela's is still as wonderful as I remember from last year.

Made my pilgrimage to the Social Security office to prove that yes indeed, I WAS actually born when and where I said I was. The photostat image with the pressed-on seal is looking mighty yellow and faded these days.

Later in the afternoon I went out again in quest of the last half of season 2 of Battlestar Galactica, released today. Hoo ha, they had it! Like all quests, though, there were problems. Like rain. Like torrential rain. Like tornado-warning- type rain. I got drenched twice, the second time trying to get back into Blue in the Publix parking lot with an umbrella that suddenly refused to close. After hilarious struggles, I finally had to stash it in the truck bed, still open. Then spent another 15 minutes, shivering and soaked, sitting there in the cab, waiting until I could see anything at all out the windshield, other than the terrifying lightning striking the ground nearby. When it became merely Very Scary, Blue and I crawled home. I had to change all my clothes, including underwear. (My hair, however, looks mah-velous-- nothing like a rainwater soak, left to dry in warm humid air. It's all cute and wiggly.)

Well, of course, nothing would do but a BG marathon-- watched four episodes, including an expanded version of the mid-season cliff-hanger, featuring a wonderful guest apprearance by Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro, for you Trekkies out there). And I have to admit, my inclination is to watch the other seven eps tonight! But no: Four tomorrow and three the next day (then the Extras on Friday) sounds about right. Love this show! It's violent, excruciating, depressing, maddening, yet relentlessly fascinating. At some point in each episode, I ask myself, why am I watching this? But by the end, I know: it's just so gosh-darn good.

Picked up some fish while I was at Publix. They had neither halibut nor grouper, so I settled for flounder, since the fish guy said it was fresh today. The filets were so thin I decided to do it like their label recipe suggested, (as opposed to the baked Spanish-style treatment I had planned) baked in foil with lemon juice and seasonings -- alas, substituting Lowry's for Mrs. Dash one for one was probably a mistake, as it was way too salty. But mixing each bite with an unsalted side (cauli-rice and fresh snapped green beans) made it edible.

Wondering if today's weather extravaganza might portend a seasonal change. They've been promising a break in the temps for days. One sure sign that October is nearly here: the semi-annual infestation of ... The Love Bugs! They are at the worst between 10 and 4, which is of course exactly when I was out and about twice today. Had them all over Blue, inside and outside of the windows. They don't plague you like mosquitos do-- they are totally rapt into what they're doing, and don't care what you do to them-- just annoying, especially when their Liebestod happens on the windshield or the nose of your vehicle. Very hard to clean off. Life in Florida marches to its own seasonal beat.