02 june 11

First day of summer break. Also first day of Finding Photo Freedom. Instead of starting on that, I went to the pool. It is Thursday and that means swimming lunch and Publix.

I did get dome things done like digi shopping and POTD. I have new characters. I spent time collecting old tires and plane parts and not of that shows in this first scene.

Ryan opted not to swim and so did I. I think I am going to order a swim shirt so my fat, pale arms do not need to show. They are need cheap at least in chubby girl sizes.

The clubhouse has a new pool deck. It was just replaced a couple of years ago but they had problems with it. This one is faux tile. And not a good job at the "tile joints". The tables have also been resurfaced and look cheesy.

I didn't bring my camera today. I remembered when I got in the car. Ryan said I should leave it until next year. Brat.

The weather was nice. The sun is warm but the breeze is cool. All the rain we had yesterday helped. The ladies exercise group is still going. Andy showed no sign of joining them until they neared the end. He didn't get too close and even did some of his own exercises on the pool deck.

Ugh. I forgot how bad the signal is here at the clubhouse. The wifi only works inside the clubhouse. You have to leave the pool area to go in. I really dislike what they have done to this place. It is not friendly at all.

Ryan grew bored and annoyed that Andy was still swimming at 11:15. Ryan only swims for about 45 minutes when he does swim at all. I told him he had to let Andy swim for an hour. I said he could stay home next time. Then I realized that he doesn't even know how to use the phone. Neither boy has shown much, if any, curiosity about the phones. They will look on the caller ID to see who is ringing, but they don't know how to answer the phone. Or make call. I will have to fix that soon.

We did our lunchtime run to McDonald's and Chick Fil A and then to Publix. Ryan did better will pushing the cart than he had on Monday. But he still managed to crash into another cart. I cannot see this boy getting his license in 4 years. Or ever.

Years ago, the boys would whine or make some noise if I was in the "wrong" lane. We are all creatures of habit that they knew the routes and routine better than myself. Today, Ryan's arm kept getting closer to me and I could sense he wanted to steer. He said I needed to get over. But we still have 3/4 miles until I needed to turn. Once I told him the schedule, he was OK with my driving in that he knew where I would be driving. He is a back seat driving in the front seat at the age of 12. And he complained that he could not read the air bag warning on the visor since it was partially covered up by a cd holder. I explained the warning and told him about air bags.

The afternoon seemed to drag on. Probably because I didn't nap. I made a layout and a card and worked on some photo editing. my brother sent me a text to land line message. What an annoying piece of crap that it. The call comes from "unknown" and the computer speech is awful. You must recognize the number or else you will have no idea whom the text is from. It is very bad and takes way to long to go through. I told him to email me. But he doesn't have a smart phone. Ugh. He wanted a recent picture of me and the boys. Double ugh. Thankfully not one exists that I know of.

9:28 pm

Quiet with Ryan asleep and Andy soon to go to bed. He won't go to sleep until after 10, maybe even 11:00. He is a night owl. But he knows to stay in his room and be "quiet" after 9:30. I will probably go to bed soon.

Only 80 more days to go.

bowling for fun

Andy had a field trip at Pin Chasers. Mrs E said they would be there at 9:30. I was there (on the phone with Bonnie) and the bus showed up at 9:50.

The kids were told they didn't need to change their shoes if they had sneakers. That made things go quickly.



They were only allowed to play one game. We got done about 10:30. Then the kids paid their dollar and we walked over to Ci-Ci's. It was not open so we had to wait. Andy was fine because he had his new iPod Touch and was shooting videos.



We had too much pizza. We left about noon and went to Publix we took our groceries home and went to Chick Fil A. Andy had two lunches.



We went to McDonald's to get fries for Ryan. Andy said he wanted fries too. Really? He didn't finish his lunch from Chick Fil A. I got the fries but he didn't eat many. At County Line he burped and said, "I do that on the toilet." Huh? Oh he meant get sick. are you going to get sick? "No." but he sat hunched over and did not eat any more fries.



Later, he went into the bathroom like he was going to throw up. But he had diarrhea instead. He didn't say anything and tried to clean himself. But the stink came out into the room and I knew he needed help.

philippe park

This is the last scheduled Friday morning photo walk. For some reason, I never got around to scheduling walks for June. Turns out I can’t walk in June because my dad is staying out of town longer.



OP and George and Allen were at the park when I arrived. Soon Sherry showed up. We really haven’t had the time to chat because the photo meetings have become webinars and there is little socializing.



Jeff and Theresa did show up even though he did not RSVP again. Almost every one was there and we started walking. Jeff did not go through his spiel since no one was new. Sherry and I walked along the water even though the beach got very narrow in places. We met up with the group again when we climbed back on shore.



I don't think anyone was very interested in shooting. Phillippe Park is very nice but Jeff mostly comes early morning for the birds.



Doyle showed up to help me with a photo shoot I had after the walk. Allen, Sherry, OP and I started to walk back towards the car. Doyle met up with us then Jeff made it back with George. Some of the group went to lunch but I had to get ready for my senior shoot.

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pioneer florida museum

Andy had a field trip to the Pioneer Florida Museum. I got there a few minutes before the bus and purchased 3 large coins. I think they will be fun to use in some macro shots.



The kids split up into 3 groups. Two groups then went with one guide and the third group with another guide. He took us to the train station and we got to see the toy train set up. The kids got to climb up on the train. Then they got to climb up on the fire engine. I always seem to be a few moments late so I didn't get good shots.





We then went through the school room, church and house. Sam had to go up to the pulpit and pretend to give a speech. At the school room, he wanted to be a teacher. Andy always stay at the fringes, outside if they would let him. I was like that too. I would still be like that without my camera.



We switched guides and went through more buildings. It is just as impressive as Heritage Village without the long drive. Though the rural setting at Heritage Village makes it seem more authentic.



Once the tour was done, the kids ate. I had a snack at Starbucks so I didn't have lunch. And I knew we would be going to Chick Fil A. Andy and I then went to Publix.

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busy. and a bit sick.

I have a blog post almost ready but haven't been able to get to the photos. We are going to Orlando tomorrow and Ryan brought home a cold. He is better but now Andy & I have it. Andy decided to not sleep last night which kept me awake at time. He does this every year or so. I don't know how he does it. I know I can't. My brain is no longer functioning correctly.

changes

When I was taking driver's ed, we had to learn to change a tire. I had my chance to try out my skills a couple of years later when I was a senior. I was on the powderpuff team and we were at practice. After we played against the football team, Tina had a flat tire. Neither one of us had a boyfriend so we started to change the tire ourselves. I was loosening the lug nuts before we jacked up the car. It was the way I was taught. Of course a few of the football players decided to walk by just then. They said I was doing it wrong but didn't offer to help. We got it changed just fine and Tina was able to get the tire fixed without her father knowing about it.

I went decades without any tire problems. Well, except for bike tires. I had a rash of flats in the mid 90s when I actually moved my ass. Bike tires may be smaller and cheaper than auto tires but they are actually harder and messier to change. Especially the rear one.

A couple of years ago, one of the tires on my van had a slow leak. It held enough air to get me to the shop to have the flat fixed. I was surprised when there was no charge. Not that I expected much, I remember it being $5 or $10 years, and years, ago. I guess it is their way of getting you in the door. And it worked because the next time I needed tires, I went directly to them.

Last week, Ryan had a dentist appointment. We were done about 1:00 and we pulled out of the lot. We just started onto Amberly Drive and something sounded wrong. I stopped, looked and saw the flat. Dang! I crawled a little farther looking for a place to pull over. I stopped in the median of an gated apartment complex. I called my insurance and went through all the buttons and such just to see if I had roadside assistance. I did and they put in a call. It would be about 30 minutes. I didn't want to sit and wait neither did Ryan. I pulled out the manual and started reading.



My friend, Bonnie, has flats all the time. She blames the rural roads. It might be the speeds she drives over those rural roads. Bonnie just calls her husband to come and change her tire. And he does it. I think it might be the way Texan men are brought up. If Gail was alive and I called him, he would have told me to change it myself or call roadside assistance. He would not leave work for a flat tire. If my dad were in town, I could have called him. He would have come but he probably would not have been much help. He has grown weak in his old age.

The hardest part was getting the spare. It is kept under the car. It came down OK but I finally had to sit in the ground and get it free. Did I mention I was wearing a skirt? Yeah, not very lady like. Ryan helped a bit once he lost his rubber ball he has just gotten from the dentist. Meanwhile, there were plenty of cars going in and out of the apartment complex as well as people driving a golf cart. As I was tightening the lug nuts, a woman driving the golf cart asked if I needed any help. Good timing.



We were done in twenty minutes. Dirty and sweaty. Oh yeah, it was 90 degrees. I called the insurance company back and had them cancel the assistance. Then we went to lunch, the bookstore and home. I went to the tire place the next day and waited for 2 hours while they fixed the flat. They also rotated the tires and put back the spare.

good friday at lake park

We could have just stayed home but I don't want Ryan to get lazy. He will happily stay home and watch TV and play on the computer. I let him choose where we went. He chose Lake Park.



We left at 10:30 and when we got there, it was busy. Instead of stopping at the playground, we continued to the back. There is another playground, but it is older and meant for smaller kids. We drove some more and saw some guy setting up a remote satellite. We saw someone unloading horses from their trailer. We saw someone racing his RC vehicle around the dirt track.



We parked the car and got out. There was only one person on the track. I took photos. The boys walked around. Ryan liked it. It was car racing but at a scale he could tolerate. The noise was not too much. I took hundreds of photos hoping to get a few good shots. This was a new type of shooting for me. Tracking small vehicles is not that easy. I didn't even try any panning.







Ryan got bored so we went to the big playground. It was still crowded. They rent canoes now for $25 for 4 hours. I asked Ryan but he said no. Fine with me, I really didn't want to see any snakes or alligators. Though the Do Not Molest the Alligator sign is gone so maybe I only have to worry about snakes. Yuck.



There is a new gazebo. It makes for a nice spot for photos. I wonder if Victoria might like it. It is probably busy on the weekends with other photographers.





The playground was filled with little kids. I am sure most were wondering why my kids were there. Ryan was crawling under the plateau and looking up. A woman assumed he was looking up under the girls' dresses (There were a lot of girls in dresses) and got angry at him and me. I explained to Ryan not to do that but didn't explain to the woman about Ryan. Sometimes I just don't have the energy. (This week has been very low energy.)



When Ryan was bored, we left. We went to McDonald's & Chick Fil A then home. We went home Dale Mabry to Lutz Lake Fern to US 41 to Newberger Road to Livingston to County Line to Stetson. The homes along Newberger were large and very nice. I had never been that way.



I spent 2 hours going through the hundreds of photos. Andy stayed in his room mostly. He has been keeping the floor picked up and I am very happy about that.
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fourteen

Andy's birthday was Wednesday. It was a low-key day like every other year. Well, last year was fun but Mrs. E is not the fun person that Jessica is. (I was going to link the last year's blog post but it appears I never wrote one.)



Andy's IEP was in the morning. I brought donuts so the class could have a treat. Andy thought I was going to stay. Because Monday's home note said that they celebrated birthdays. I assumed this meant Andy & Ms. Karem and was upset that I wasn't invited. I was not ready for his birthday. I had more gifts to wrap and balloons to buy. I had made plans to meet Doyle for lunch and did not bring my camera. I negotiated with Andy that I would take him own early on Thursday after bowling. He was OK with that.



I had everything ready just minutes before the bus came. I went out that morning to Toys R Us because the gifts I did have him seemed like not enough.



Andy came home and showed me the card he got from his classmates & teachers. Then he began to open gifts. He opened the iPod Touch first and very happy. He would have been happy to stop but I made him open the rest. Ryan would check in to see what Andy got them leave for a few more minutes. Andy was opening his gifts so slowly, peeling the tape off the paper instead of ripping it off.





When Andy was done, he happily disappeared into his bedroom with his iPod Touch. Even the balloons were left in the kitchen until Friday. I realize that I didn't need to buy the extra gifts.



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no jokes during holy week

The chiropractor's office is closed for Good Friday. When Dr. B came in, I asked if he was going to spend Friday doing the stations of the cross. He said that they would be at services doing a live reenactment. I did stop myself from asking if they would be crucifying and Jews.

"Now you know I am Roman Catholic." He mentioned that they go to St. Paul's. He asked me what parish I belong to and I told that I was no longer Catholic but my dad goes to St. Mark's.

"Why do you no longer go to church?"

"You know, the whole pope thing."

"No, I don't know. What pope thing."

"I don't like having one old man telling me what to do."

"Even the pope has one man telling him what to do."

He then handed me a pamphlet about going back to the Catholic church.

I should have known as soon as he said "...Roman Catholic." to quietly back away.

dunedin photo walk

Dunedin is a small town on the gulf coast north of Clearwater. It is a nice place to visit with lots of cute shops and places to eat.

We met at the marina and walked to the jetty. There was an aerie with an osprey family. OP could see 2 babies. The parents kept flying back and forth with food and I tried to get some shots. I am not a bird photographer. I lack the patience and a steady hand while holding the longer lens. I threw away all of my shots. They were mediocre at best.



I left OP and walked to Main Street. I had said that anyone who wanting to eat lunch could meet up at 11:30. It was close so we went to Tina's and waited. Wendy showed up. She was late and said she was looking for us.



After lunch, Wendy & I walked around and I tried to help her with her camera. We walked through the market and were disappointed in the stuff they had. There was more produce than anything else. Wendy did buy a hat and she let me take her photo as a challenge that no one gets a good shot of her.





We walked back down Main Street and then it was time to go home.

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