world wide photo walk

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Saturday was Scott Kelby's Fifth Annual World Wide Photo Walk. This is my fourth year. On the day it was announced, I went to sign up and found RC's walk already full. Scott Kelby was not going to be Tampa that day so all of his fans joined RC's walk. I signed up on the wait list. I checked daily until Matt posted his walk for Dunedin and I switched. I emailed my friends but no one responded. 

When I talked to Bridget, she told me she forgot to sign up. I said she should tag along. Anyone can go but only those who signed up can post photos and enter the contest. Neither one of us are interested in that. I talked to Doyle earlier in the week but he was unsure if he could go. He is usually his daughter's chauffeur on the weekends.

Bridget picked me up and we went to Dunedin. Doyle called on the way and said he would be joining us too. 

The meeting place just said "benches" so we had to guess which benches Matt was referring to. I thought it was the Dunedin Historical Museum next to the Pinellas trail. Soon others joined us. Matt showed up and walked over to us. He seemed nice but is not chatty. Matt did his spiel and used his iPhone 5 to take a panorama shot of the group. Matt's spiel was much shorter than Jeff's. Matt wasn't trying to sell anything.

The three of us walked around. In the four years since my first photo walk, they have painted a few of the buildings. There is still a lot of good color. 

We didn't take that many photos but that was fine. We had a good time. I sort of felt like an old pro since we had many of the shots others were taking. We walked up to the old oak tree held together with large steel cables. I could find any I information about it online. 

We walked back towards the shops and saw Matt. He said lunch had been changed to Casa Tina. They were the only place willing to accommodate us. 

We walked down to the water and walked around. Doyle was dressed for cooler weather and was hot. At 11:30 I suggested we go to the restaurant and he a drink. Bridget was all for that. 

We walked past other restaurants and they were already full. Casa Tina was fairly empty. They had an area set up for us and we grabbed one of the round booths. Bridget got a sangria and I got a margarita. Doyle stuck with tea. 

We were not the first ones for long. Service was a bit slow but the food was good. We tried to take some panos with my iPhone. It is not that easy. 

Doyle did not take many photos. Be never laid down on the ground. 

We left and drove back. Bridget & I stopped at Yogurtology.

I posted images at Flickr.​

​I made a digital layout.

podcasts

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I am still enjoying podcasts. Way too many of them. I am lucky if I can get through all the ones I download in a week. I am learning to be more discerning with my time an fast forward through ones that do not interest me. I am a child of limited TV channels and no DVRs so I tend to listen to things I find boring hoping to get to the more interesting stuff soon. I have to keep remembering that there is so much information and entertainment. So much content, that I can be choosy. 

I only listen to one podcast since I started listening was back in 2003 or 2004. MacGeekGab is still going strong and is still relevant.  I now listen through Instacast on my iPhone. I tried to listen with my iPad but it tends to crash with Instacast. Instacast allows me to have playlists. 

My playlist called safe is my most used playlist. This includes most of my NPR podcasts and all of my tech podcasts from networks like 5by5 and 70 Decibels. 

My humor playlist contains all the podcasts that may contain swearing. I don't always wear headphones and need to be aware of who might also be listening. I don't worry about my kids hearing such language. They know they cannot repeat these words. They listen to George Carlin and know which bits to repeat. It is my father who objects to poor and filthy language. I understand him not like the swearing but he also objects to hearing "Oh my God!" and when a podcaster uses such phrases as "you know" too often. Several times he has counted how many times that phrase was said and told me after the podcast was over. I tend to tune that out so I can enjoy the podcast. It is difficult when dad points it out. Most of these podcasts are listened to with headphones while I am walking. 

My third playlist is called music. Several of the NPR podcasts are about music. I tend to listen to this playlist last if I have time at the end of the weekend. The quality isn't so good listening through the iPhone speaker but I am listening to learn about new music or the artists. 

bok tower gardens & pinewood estate

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Bridget went back to work and now we don't see each very often. She wanted to go shoot something and I was up for it. She suggested Bok Tower. It was on my list of places I wanted to go but haven't been. It is in Lake Wales, farther than Legoland. In fact, we passed Legoland on the drive there. 

We decided to do both the gardens and the Pinewood Estate. Tickets for both were $18 per person. 

We got there about 9:30 and found the place not crowded at all. We walked through the visitors center but skipped the movie. We walked up the hill to Bok Tower. As we approached, the clouds cleared up enough that we got some beautiful blue sky to serve as a backdrop for the limestone tower. We could not get too close to the tower as there was a moat. 

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We walked back down the hill to a pond with giant lily pads. They were probably 30" across. Someone was feeding the hidden fish. We saw a heron fly down and climb through the shrubs to get close to the fish. He managed to snatch one out of the water and gulp it down. We tried to get some photos but the plants obscured him. 

We ended back at the visitor center and there were many more people. We got a map and found that we had to climb the hill once more to get to the Pinewood Estate. We walked around the house and shot some of the landscape. The gardens were designed before the house why the Olmsted Brothers. Then we swatted at mosquitos while we waited for the tours to begin. 

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Thankfully the house was air conditioned. They referred to it as mansion but I do not think it was that large. It did have servant quarters over the three car garage. There were also five large bathrooms each with its own bath. There was a lot of beautiful tile and woodwork. The house was originally built in the 1930's as a winter retreat and only used 6-8 weeks per year. 

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Bok Tower has daily concerts but we were ready to go. We were hungry and we went to Tijuana Flats for lunch. 

You can see more photos at Flickr.​

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it is bowling season for special olympics

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The high school open house was a little different for the ESE kids. Most of their classes are in the same room with the same teacher so they added extra topics for us to learn about. We went to one room to learn about Special Olympics. We were told that the kids need an average of 30 points for 10 games in order to qualify for area bowling on September 29. The first event is scheduled for September 12. They usually play only 2 games. When can they play the other 8 games?

I asked Andy if he wanted to bowl on Saturday. He wanted Ryan to go but Ryan wanted to stay home. I got Andy to understand that he needs to bowl if he wants to qualify. I emailed Pin Chasers to ask about open bowling but didn't think I needed to reserve a lane. I emailed two other moms to invite them. One mom emailed me back and said they would try to be there. I did not hear from other mom until Saturday morning. She texted me to say she was going to be there with her kids and her sister's kids. She called Pin Chasers to reserve a couple of lanes and texted back that Pin Chasers was booked with a Breast Cancer fundraiser. (They never mentioned that in their email.) They might open some lanes depending on the crowd after 1:15. 

I decided to take the chance and we went to lunch. Andy wanted to eat inside at CFA. We drove up Morris Bridge to Pin Chasers. 

The boys also like to play video games. But each game is $1  to play and you must purchase tokens.  We brought some tokens we had purchased from Extreme Adventure. (When we were there in June, I learned that the tokens are interchangeable.) I didn't worry that I was using other tokens to play video games at PC. We spend at least $30 for bowling and tokens on a typical visit.

We got to Pin Chasers about 12:30. I explained that we needed to bowl for Special Olympics. We asked for a lane and were told there was one opening up soon. He asked how many games and I said 4 and was charged $1/game. The last time we were leaving, one of the senior workers asked if my kids had specials needs. I said yes and he said he wish he had known as we would have gotten the discount. I said that was OK not knowing how big the discount was. We paid about $24 for the boys to play for 2 hours but they only played 2 games.  

Andy played the first two games with the bumpers. He did well. It was good that he didn't have to wait for someone else so he didn't wander away and get distracted. We took a short break between games two and three. Andy played the last two games without the bumpers. He did better when he concentrated. I think he was getting tired and bored. His scores were 62, 89, 66 & 47.

Andy played some more video games. He liked the speed boat. I played the pinball machine. We played one game of air hockey then went home. We have a lane reserved for next Saturday.

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a visit to the doctor

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I procrastinated again. Andy brought home the special olympics application form a couple of weeks ago. I did not make an appointment for a physical until Wednesday. On Tuesday, I went to the high school for Open House. We learned that the form had to be in by September 7! Crud. 

I made a reminder to call 9 am on Wednesday. And when the alarm sounded, I called the doctor Andy saw 3 years ago. However, Dr. Sikes no longer gives physicals for Special Olympics. Double crud. Now I had to find a doctor and pay for the exam. 

I called Andy's pediatrician. Andy is no longer in their system, his pediatrician no longer works at that office and they have no appointments before Friday. I call another office. They do have an appointment for Thursday at 11:00. They told me to bring Andy's immunization record. I looked in his binder and saw that we had not been to see this pediatrician since 2002. 

Because of the autism, we did not go to the doctor unless necessary. We saw plenty of specialists and each visit was stressful. The boys got sick but not anything more than a cold or flu. Nothing that required a doctor visit nor antibiotics. For immunizations, we went to the county clinic because they were free and didn't require an appointment nor exam.

When Andy got home, he asked about the appointment. He would be happy to go back to Dr. Sikes. He recalled that the restroom only had one toilet and no stalls. I told him about the new office. He seemed OK with it especially knowing he would get out of school early.

I got to the school early. I never know if it is going to be a problem bringing him to the office. Also, new school, new procedures. There were no problems and we got to the doctor's office early. It was good because I had so much paperwork to fill out. They even gave Andy his out confidential questionnaire regarding drugs and sex. It was in its own folder so he could fill it out and give it to the doctor without me seeing. I filled it out for Andy. If there is a benefit to autism, I am pretty sure my boys will not smoke nor take drugs as they are so picking about eating. Neither boy will take medication and would rather cough that take cough syrup.

We were alone in the well child waiting room for a few minutes. Two women came in with a toddler. He was loud but happy. He screeched and soon got on Andy's nerves. I was ready to take him out but the mother noticed and offered. I thanked her for her generosity. Another mother and son came in. This toddler was quiet and Andy was not bother by his presence.

We were called back and they weighed Andy, 168 pounds, took his temperature, and measured his height, 72". He did not want the “squeeze” so they skipped the blood pressure. We went into a room and finished the paperwork and handed it over. Andy walked around the room and then sat on the exam table. He did not like the paper rustling under him. He didn't like that it ripped.

The doctor came in and gave the exam. Andy was hesitant but the older doctor was patient. He asked me some questions and said he would skip the genital exam. Whew! We were done and ready to go. We had to wait a while for the doctor to get the charges posted on the computer. Andy waited outside under the covered area.

I was happy to see the charges were only $40. The clerk explained that I was charged the camp physical fee. That made sense because it was not a true comprehensive exam.

It was raining heavily and didn't look like it would be stopping soon. Andy did not want to get wet so I ran for the car. And by ran I mean jogged as quickly as my fat self could go. I got soaked. I picked Andy up so he could remain dry. 

We drove down to Chick Fil A for lunch. Andy chose the one farther away. It would have been a good choice but he chose the Interstate rather than the direct route straight down Livingston. Oh well. Then we drove back up to Toys R Us. I wanted to look for more series 8 Minifigures and I felt Andy deserved a treat for behaving well. There were only 6 Lego bags left and I took them all knowing that at least three were figures I already had. Andy was happy to look for Grem and Acer from Cars 2. He played with them the whole way home.

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no school

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There was no school today because of Tropical Storm Isaac. Manatee County declared schools closed on Saturday. Sunday morning, Polk County declared schools closed for Monday. Hillsborough, Pinellas and Hernando Counties followed suit. Finally, around 4pm, Pasco County announced school would be closed Monday. 

Hurricane Days don't happen very often. We had more Snow Days in Michigan. And when we had a Snow Day, we never stayed home. We would go shopping or meet the other teachers for breakfast at The Rams Horn. We would brave the unplowed streets for non-essential journeys. 

Ryan would never venture out in a storm if his life depended on it. He only feels safe at home and when his family is home too. 

I had a chiropractor appointment scheduled for Monday. I would have gone if the boys were in going to school. But I changed it. The winds were done before noon but still Andy wanted to stay home. I did have to go out together bread for grilled cheese. The weather was fine and the store was relatively quiet.

I think they called the day off preemptively. The storm was well off the coast and not very strong.

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legoland with ryan

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Ryan asked to go to Legoland after he looked at the photo book I made of Andy's trip. He wanted to go before he turned 14 so he could go to the Driving School.​

Ryan chose the long route. We got to Legoland just as the park opened. We had to wait in line for his ticket. It was good that I did not order it online. A woman gave me a coupon for a free ticket. We saved $75!

We walked in and I let Ryan lead. I forgot about the dragon & the water and we both got wet. He wasn't happy.

We went on the Island in the Sky ride. It went well until the end. They ask everyone to go left so people can board at the same time. Ryan complained and wanted to go home.

We went to the Factory and watched the video. This put Ryan in a better mood. But then Ryan was thirsty and needed water. I got him a $2 bottle and he was OK. We were going to go on The Grand Carousel and waited in line. Then they cut off the people in front and Ryan was unhappy. He complained until we left the ride.

We walked into Minifigure Market. I did get him to sit by the sleeping guy but he said the Lego creation was trying to grab him.

We tried to look at the Greenhouse but it was closed. This further degraded Ryan's mood, he said they were not letting him see anything.

We walked on to Miniland. Ryan enjoyed this and noticed that Florida was in the shape of the state and all the areas highlighted were in their proper place.

We walked over to Lego Kingdoms. Merlin's Challenge shut down as we got there. The Dragon had over an hour wait so we didn't go. Ryan was not happy.

We walked over to Land of Adventure and went on the Lost Kingdom Adventure. Ryan enjoyed it even though I trounced him in the points. Ryan really liked the Safari Trek and waited in line by himself.

Ryan said he wanted to get the Driving School out of the way so we walked over there. He smiled for his driver's license photo and we watched a video. The video wasn't done when the door opened up and Ryan wanted to wait to watch. I told him we could watch that video online. (I have seen it before.) We went into another room and watched a video about safe driving and a Lego employee asked some questions. Then they opened the door to go to the cars. Ryan didn't want to go. I had to force him. I should have let him skip the ride. I really thought he would have fun once he got going but he did not. Once the ride was over and Ryan wanted to go home. He didn't want his driver's license. He didn't want to go to any other part of the park. It was only noon.

We had to walk through Miniland again. Ryan was happy since he didn't get to (or want to) see New York.

Ryan said his feet hurt and couldn't wait to go home. But I made him sit and watch me eat apple fries. They weren't as good as I remembered but it might have been the constant complaining.

We walked through The Big Store but Ryan wanted nothing. I got a pin. I spent less than $13 for the whole day.

We stopped at McDonald's and Ryan chose another long way home.

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breakfast at marne's

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My grandparents lived 5 houses down through the alley Surprisingly, we weren't over there all the time. Marne and Grandpa were busy and not always home when we were little. 

My three bothers had paper routes and Sundays were a big day. Marne would make them breakfast after their routes. Sometimes we got to join them.

Marne was not the best cook. But one meal I loved eating over there was breakfast. The menu rarely varied, scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits. I loved her scrambled eggs, they were thick and fluffy and peppery. I was told later that they were runny but I don't remember or maybe I liked them that way. The bacon was never a favorite of mine, it always seemed too tough. I am not a fan of bacon even cooked well. The star of the breakfast were the biscuits. Marne started with 2 cans of Hungry Jack biscuits. This was the day without flavors like honey butter and the easy open can. She had to whack the can on the counter to get them to open. She placed them packed tightly in 2 pie plates. Then she added some butter to the insides and the tops of the biscuits and set them in the oven to bake. They took a while to bake because they were so tightly packed and she added so much butter to them. 

When they were done (and sometimes they had to be put back in the oven for a few minutes) we each got one. We added more butter and honey to them and ate them with our fingers. So yummy. So fattening. There were usually enough for 2 biscuits for each person, the boys usually got 3 because of all of their hard work. Rarely were there leftovers. 

My grandparents lived in a flat. They rarely ate in the dining room, the kitchen table was usually against the window and as small as it could be made. For the 2 of them, eating in the kitchen was fine. Add the 7 of us and it was packed. Grandpa had the back porch enclosed and we ate out there whenever it wasn't too cold. He added an electric fireplace to add heat but only the person sitting in front of it could feel it.

After Grandpa died, my brother Greg lived with Marne for a while. She found out he like blueberry muffins and that was added to the breakfast menu. Yes, Marne still made biscuits. In fact, Marne made biscuits even when we ate dinner over there. Greg, got his own small blueberry muffin pie. 

My mom developed her own special biscuits. She took 2 cans of Hungry Jack biscuits, dipped each biscuit in melted butter, then in cinnamon sugar. She baked them in a 13x9 pan. Oh my goodness! They were so good. She only made them at the cottage and only a few times a year. Hungry Jack came out with a cinnamon biscuit, a poor imitation. 

I used to make biscuits for the boys on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We still used Hungry Jack but switched to Honey Butter. They are good enough to eat plain. First Ryan stopped eating biscuits. Then Andy stopped. 

Now the only time I get biscuits is when I got out for breakfast, maybe once a year. 

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