special olympics bowling 2010

(still catching up!)



Soon after school starts, Special Olympics begins to hold their fall events. First up was bowling. I knew what to expect so I was not overwhelmed. Also they seemed more organized and got the high school kids out before it was our turn to play.



Special Olympics organizes which kids play on what teams. They are mixed according to ability. Well, mostly. This means that some of the more able kids play together. The more able kids end up finishing their games first.



On one team were two boys from Andy's class. They are both extremely competitive and want, need, to win. Both cried and threw tantrums each time they didn't get a strike. One of the boys finally had to stop playing.



I learned from last year to order food early. It took 20 minutes to get out 7" cheese pizzas. Andy ate 1 1/2 of the pizza. Though I got all the crust. The pizza arrived before Andy was done bowling. He ate then went to play his turn. He couldn't care less about bowling at that point. He was tossing the ball and running back to the table.



We waited awhile for the ribbons to be distributed. Andy got second place for his age group. He doesn't care about the rankings.



Once the awards were given out, Andy came home with me. But first he wanted to go to Chick Fil A. He didn't eat much after all that pizza. But he took the food home and ate it later.

chestnut park

(catching up)



Chestnut Park seems to be a popular place for early morning photo walks on Sundays and Mondays. Since I can't do those times, I scheduled a walk for Friday. The problem is that 10am is too late for all the birds. But Chestnut Park is large and there is more to look at than just birds.



I picked up Todd and we drove over to Palm Harbor. We got there early and walked around waiting for the others to show. In one of the ponds, we could hear an alligator croaking. We couldn't see him.



Around 10am, Sherry showed up. We were expecting 7 more people including Jeff and Theresa. They are usually early. I called Doyle and found he was on his way. He was running late because he put the wrong address in the gps. After waiting a bit, the four of us started. Weird that no one else showed up.



Sherry had been to the park before so she led the walk. Since the birds had left for the day, I used Chip as my model. We had tried to get the squirrels to check out Chip but they could not be bribed with a mint.





We walked to the playground where Sherry rode the dinosaur and Doyle recorded a video.









We saw an alligator in the pond we threw stones and sticks trying to get him to move.





Then we drove over to another area of the park to walk the cypress swamp. Sherry gave me some insect repellant which just made my arms burn. I ended up with over a dozen bug bites.





Sherry wanted to go right and I wanted to go left. I didn't say that I was have very bad gas cramps from all the fruit I ate the night before. We went left and saw deer! There were 2 fawns and a doe. They were walking in the water. When we got put the swamp, we saw the deer again but couldn't get good shots this time.





Doyle begged off of lunch. He is losing weight with Jenny Craig and hates to "cheat." The three of us went to Pizza Villa in Land O' Lakes.

first day of school

(still catching up!)




(click to enlarge)


This was the first time in 9 years I wasn't very excited about the boys going back to school. Maybe it has to do with dad being here and me being able to get away now and then. Or maybe it was the confusion with schedules and teachers this year.

Two weeks ago, we learned that Andy's teacher was moving. Fortunately, the teacher who was in this position a few years ago was able to move back into the classroom. Though we still do not have a firm schedule with his classes and elective.

Last week, Ryan had no schedule. They pieced one together for Open House but then changed it the next morning. Ryan needs to know his schedule. This up in the air stuff is frustrating for him which then frustrates me. The person who would help schedule peers for Ryan is out of state for a funeral. "By the time Mr Fowler comes back, I won't need him anymore."

In the past, the bus is always late the first day and sometimes the first week. Ryan hates to be late so I drive them to school. Usually I just drop them off trusting the staff to get them to their classes. I realized I had nowhere to go so I stayed and made sure the boys got to class. When the bell rang, I said good-bye to Ryan and hung out with Andy. We got to class and I said hello to the students. Andy needed no help to get settled even though it was a new class.

I stayed awhile and took more photos. Most of the kids knew me and are used to my camera. It was a bit odd being there in the morning. The students were quiet and subdued. I usually only saw them late in the day or on a field trip when they were more animated. Andy was very quiet. I thought he might be annoyed with me staying there so I left. Mrs. E invited me to come all week. I am not sure Andy would like that. She also said I should sign up to be a volunteer. All hours that I log help the school with their state grade. I had never heard that before.

(The photos were taken on the first and second day. I realized I needed some more of Ryan and the courtyard where the kids wait for the bell.)

playing hooky with ryan

This post should have been posted months ago. Like in June. I still have more photos to edit but I wanted to just get this posted.



Ryan's fifth grade class had a trip to Busch Gardens. Ryan didn't want to go. The rides make him nervous even if he is not riding. He wouldn't tell me what he wanted to do instead so I finally made plans to ride the trolleys. He chose to go to the aquarium first.





We got to the aquarium just before 10. It wasn't crowded which was nice. It seems like there are less and less fish each time we visit. And I am noticing more birds. Since it is so difficult to get good shots of the fish, I focused on the birds. Still, my ISO had to be cranked up to 800 to get any speed.










We tend to go through the aquarium quickly. Ryan only looks at the fish and fowl briefly before checking another spot off on his map. We were done before 11 am.





They have built up quite the water play area for pre-schoolers. A few ran around as we walked through the misting fans. There are several areas to sit in the shade while the kids play in the water area. There is even a cantina for those dads who need a drink and check up on the sports scores.





We got our trolley tickets and waited for the trolleys to start running. They start at 11 am. Only two run passing each other along the middle of the route. We soon saw both motormen several times as we traveled and got off to walk around.



We ate lunch at Tampa Bay Brewing Company. I have a thing for their veggie burgers. But this was a mistake. Ryan does not like to eat out. And it's been several years since he has been anywhere but a fast food restaurant. The thirty minutes we were there must have seemed like hours to him. He did try the chocolate milk though it was served in a box. It wasn't very cold so he only took a few sips. He wanted fries and I like their steak fries. But they were too hot and "too big" and Ryan only ate one.





We got back on the trolley and back to the car so Ryan could grab a thermos of milk. We rode the trolley to Dick Greco Plaza. The motorman suggested we ride the glass elevators in the Embassy Suites. We did. The hotel is 20 stories but Ryan pressed 15 when we got in the elevator. The interior is set up like a courtyard. Vertigo! And their pool is long and narrow too. It looked more like a foot bath.

We got back on the trolley and back to the car. I stopped at Wendy's for fries that Ryan knew he would like.

butterfly rainforest

(click photos to enlarge)

A few of us from the meet-up group drove up to Gainesville to the Florida Natural y Museum and the Butterfly Rainforest Exhibit.









It is a large area filled with butterflies. Some of them are exotic. The path through is small so tripods and monopods are not allowed. There atrium seemed bright but not to the camera. I stilled needed an ISO of 640 to get any decent shutter speeds. I was overwhelmed with the amount of butterflies fluttering all over the place. Catching them in a good shot was not so easy. Many would only stop for a moment before they flew off to another spot. The Blue Morphos are very frisky. They have brilliant blue wings which you can only see when they are flying. When they light, they close their wings to show brown which camouflages easily. I did manage to get a shot of one with the help of a docent. It's not a great shot since I only had my 50mm macro lens. (I really need/want a faster lens, someday.)



The atrium is kept at an even 80 degrees. And with all the plants and water, it's humid. We were all dripping by the time we got have way through.



We saw a few couples mating. It's rather boring process. If I lived for only 2 weeks, I might get a bit more daring. Then again, any rough sex might kill them instantly. Not a good idea if you only have sex to further the species.



We had to leave the atrium to change lenses. They do not allow bags to be opened inside because a butterfly may hop in or get trapped. They also have double door air locks to prevent any butterflies from escaping.



My first pass I used my wide angle zoom. It worked better than I expected. I went through again using my 50mm macro. I focused more on the flowers.







We left and walked through the gift shop. We also saw them pinning dead butterflies onto wood for display. They had dozens of shadow boxes lining the halls. After we cooled off, we walked outside to a nearby cafe. Bridget, Allen and Mike had come a few weeks earlier. They had said the ponds were full of water lilies. There were only a few left but they were beautiful.





The drive back was rainy. Very rainy.

channelside north

Every time I travelled in the TECO street car between Channelside and Ybor, I saw the new buildings in the area and wanted to get a closer look. I was also interested in the barber shop with the graffiti like mural on the side of the building. I kept saying I wanted to do a photo walk in the area but never got around to doing it.

We finally planned a day to walk around. It was a Friday without a "formal" walk schedule. But after the problem with the skate parks, I mentioned my plan to walk at the Tuesday meeting.

I picked up Todd and told him I wanted to go one specific building before the walk. It is actually part of the area but on the edges so I wanted to make sure I shot it. This was a barbershop which recently closed. And the mural on the side of the building looked more like graffiti. Perhaps the intention was to be the night artists at their own game. The wall faces north so getting natural light on it is difficult. I just didn't want to deal with the sun peeking over the roof of the building. I really should have gotten out my tripod. And maybe I will in the future.





We met Allen, Doyle and a new member Shelby. Doyle knew about a metal shop so we went up Twelfth Street first to check it out. The place is really cool and the people we very friendly. They let us walk around and take all the shots we wanted to. I could have shot there all day though the light was poor. A tripod would have been a good idea.














We walked up the street and I loved the feel of the architecture. Of course there is an architectural office here.



A man approached us and offered to let us up in his apartment building so we could shoot. His name is Sal and he is former military. It was very cool to shoot from that vantage point. We spent so much time up there that we didn't get much farther in the area.




We made our way back to Channelside and had lunch at the Greek Taverna.

[fall color tour] day 3

(more from my quick trip in October)

Lots of driving. Some if it very scary.

Cades Cove in Tennessee. We got up early and drove 3 hours to meet Norm and his brother. But no one called until we got there and there was no cell service. We did manage to see them by chance. Cades Cove was crowded.















We left Cades Cove and stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch. Then we went to Elk River falls. There are few signs and we weren't sure if we were going the right way. The site is not protected with railings which is probably why it is not marked.

Elk River Falls in North Carolina



Then on to Grandfather Mountain. We had hoped to get there for sunset but the weather was not cooperating. Fog rolled in and we could not see the mountain. Allen was driving up and at one point, we all thought he was going over the edge. No guard rails!

Grandfather Mountain







I needed a drink, or 6 after that. We went to Stonewalls and I had margaritas. Yum.

[photo walk] fort desoto

Allan and Mike were complaining about the lack of good locations for Friday photo walks. They prefer natural sights with lots of birds. Jeff plans those kind of walks on Sunday mornings. I scheduled a Friday walk for Fort DeSoto.





I hadn't been to the park since we first moved to Florida. Gail took us but the boys were too young to enjoy it much. The waves are too strong. We didn't even visit the fort. I probably would not have appreciated it then as I was not doing much photography but snapshots of the boys.



There isn't much left but the the shell of the building. There are 3 guns left of the original 8. They are fixed in various positions and the cannons are empty. I played with Chip in the barrel and Doyle said it looked like I was being executed. Jason offered his bandana as a blind fold. Doyle told me to wait until everyone was done shooting. I peeked and saw them leaving. Ha ha.





Ryan's teacher called and I was on the phone when Doyle climbed into window to pose for me. I had to shoot one handed and didn't even get a chance to check my settings. Luckily I was sitting on a bench at the time.







There aren't too many choices for lunch in the park. There is a concession stand in the gift shop but... We decided to leave the park and headed to Billy's Crab. Now I know it is because they serve beer. Jeff only drinks coffee or beer. I took Chip along and he had fun posing for me.

new appliances

I'm sure I blogged about my dryer woes from last year. On Saturday, the dryer stopped working again. I knew it was time to look for a new unit.

Thanks to Stephanie, I was able to check out Consumer Reports. I was shocked at the cost of new dryers. When and why did they get so expensive? I picked out 5 middle of the road unit to look at. I planned on checking them out and purchasing a new dryer on Sunday.

I went to Famous Tate first. I still had not heard from them regarding Andy's bed. I told them that and Ricardo said it would be taken of.

We looked at dryers. We looked at scratch & dent but the only dryers they had were basic units. Very basic. Ricardo showed me some LG units. I hadn't heard of steam units and he explained the benefits. We don't have dry cleaning nor use bleach so the benefits would be wasted on us.

Gas dryers are not popular in Florida. It would cost about $100 more for the unit, $75 more for installation since a certified gasman needs to do the work, and take a week linger because they don't stock them. The new washers are supposed to cut the drying time by about 30%. Famous Tate had a good deal on the pair. I bought the pair with the electric dryer.

As we sat writing up the order, we talked about detergent. I told them I used Charlie's Soap. Another person looked it up. We then talked about hard water and phosphates being removed from detergents. The phosphates are what helped the detergent to clean and removed the calcium from the hard water. They recommend Lemi Shine. I had never heard of it but looked it up when I got home.

I found Lemi Shine at amazon.com for 4 times the msrp. What? But the reviews were good. I found some at Target and bought a jar. I tried it last night and am sold! When I emptied the dishwasher this morning, there was no more grit, not more white deposits left on the nylon spatula, not fog left on the mixing cup.

Today I stayed at home waiting for delivery. I cleaned up the boxes littering the entry, moved an old printer to my car for donation and vacuumed the carpet. Dad capped the gas and I cleaned up the years of dust and grime behind the washer and dryer. Gross.

The installation was uneventful. It took Andy awhile before he would actually get near the washer & dryer. Now, he is sitting in front watching them spin. And he has his recorder on top to record the new sounds and tones.

[photo walk] ybor market

(I am trying to catch up on blog posts I drafted and have not posted. Most of the delay is my delay in processing the photos.)


The last Saturday of the month is reserved for a photo walk. Some of these are more outings than photo walks. This month we met at the Ybor Saturday Market. I was looking forward to it thinking it would be much larger than the Friday Market in Lykes Gaslight Park. It wasn't bigger, it was smaller. It was mostly art and craft items. And since I hate asking for permission, (fear of rejection) I would rather shoot produce. But there was none probably because nothing is in season yet. I sat and talked with Theresa and Betty. Then I got Chip out and Betty and I took some shots.