The Road Less Traveled

What I saw out my bathroom window yesterday evening.  Poor Merle.  It looks like the mower is dragging him along.  Why doesn't he pay $20.00 to have it mowed every other week?  Why doesn't one of this 3 kids mow for him?

Ready for our walk today?  It was only 700 steps, so a short walk.  Yesterday, I walked 950 steps.

I turned right out of my drive--just like yesterday.

 Well--here's my favorite maintenance kid: Aaron.  He used to do yard work for me before the park hired him.

Just like yesterday...except

today--I am taking the road less traveled 

What's this?  Oh--where the park disposes of limbs and branched

 I walked back there--wetlands and the back of Corky, John and Jeff's units.

What unknown awaits around the curve?

More tall trees on my right in the wetlands and---

To my left, this fascinating pond. 

 All scummy and neat.  I'll bet there are big bull frogs in there.  Probably snakes (YIKES), dragonflys--who knows.

 WOW--the backs of the houses that are along the path I walked yesterday







Oh, this sign is hysterical.  25 hours, Video surveillance?  Yeah right!

The retention pond for our park. The water looks so clear and clean.  This is probably the drainage field for our sewer system, after the sewage has been processed?  I saw a duck, but could not get his picture.  RATZ!


Turn around and headed home.

I always like to take a little peek, just to see who might be out and about.  Nobody.







A form or flowering Oregano.  Called Kent Beauty.  Mine does not look like the pictured one.  RATZ!

‘Kent Beauty’ is a hybrid ornamental oregano (O. rotundifolium x O. scabrum) that is grown primarily for its attractive flowers and foliage. 

Another Day--Another Walk

I could not get to sleep last night.  At 2:00, I remembered, I had forgotten to open the new bottle of Melatonin. So I fumbled around in the dark, got it open and popped one.  Went right to sleep, BUT....woke up late this morning.  I also forgot to set my alarm for 8:00.

Barely awake and Dar showed up!!  GEEZ LOUISE!!  She only stayed about 30 minutes and truth be told, I dozed through much of what she was yammering about.  HAH
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Today, I decided to turn right at the end of my drive and walk up the service drive.

I picked up neighbor Mike's garbage pail and put it up on his lawn.

At the corner, Gulfstream Drive, looking north, Lloyd and Margies house.

Corky (83) has the blue house.

John and Maisey are next to him.

Jeff has the pick up.

Those guys living side-by-side, are like a bunch of frat brothers.

The are always having bets on who can catch the most chipmunks or who makes the best chili.

Corky got a reprimand from the park mgmt. last fall because he was sitting on his back porch, shooting  squirrels with his .22 pistol.  HAH

The wetlands are their back yard, and coyotes range back there.

 Lloyd and Margies beautiful Rose of Sharon bush.

I'm going left, up the service drive.  It connects the "old" part of the park (mine), with the new.

Along side my new neighbor's place.

If I walked to the right, it would take me to our sewer retention pond.

Maybe tomorrow, I will go that way.

but today.  up the hill 

If you could get through all that brush, you could walk to the marshy part of the lake.  I could when I first moved in.  Now they just let the brush grow. 

Ever onward--deer flies and skeeters biting like crazy.

Wild carrot, asters and flowers along the way.

You can barely see houses that line a dead end road. These are the people that set off their M-80's and Thunder Bombs--that burst right over our area.

An unleashed dog is barking in a yard, so I turn back.

Maybe next time I can make it clear up to the new part of the park.

This reminds me of the kind of hide-outs I used to build in the woods, when I was a kid.  I know...IF I could get back in there, I could sit for hours and no one would see me. :-)

 Easier coming down the incline.
Quad muscles, calves and back are screaming!!!

The back of new neighbor's, Jackie and Dar places.  What a nice back view they have.

Finally!  Nearing the home stretch.








Turn the corner and what do I see?  Pearl, toddleing out to get her mail.  She does toddle too.  Short little baby steps so she won't fall. Bent forward a bit.  She's so cute!

Maggie, watching Pearl and waiting for me to come inside.

Answers. Questions. Photos.

Yes, Merle has had his Social Security for the last 13 years and Pearl gets hers    They are still money tight every month, even though they get about $1800.00 a month.

Merle did not "resign" in the way we think of resigning.  That is the word Pearl used.  He simply told the owner of the golf course that he wouldn't be coming back to work there next year, so they could get someone to replace him and now...Merle is training the new guy.
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Dawn!  Thank you so much.  What a treat I am going to have!!!!!!
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So, I did the walk again this morning.  Didn't hurt quite as much when I was done.  I don't know how far it is to the lake.  Two blocks round trip?  I will have to drive it with my car so I can watch the speedometer and find out. :-).

When I step to the end of my drive--it is waaaaay up there.  Click on them to see them bigger.

Very disappointing to me.  The heart on "Fred's" tree is growing into itself.  It now looks obscene!!!

When Fred was recovering from his heart surgery, the farthest he could walk was to this tree, about half-way to the lake.  He noticed the heart shape one day and took me to see it and said, "Every time you see that heart, just remember how much I love you."  A lot of things have changed in the last 3.5 years. <Sigh>

At the corner, where I turn left to go up and out of the park.  The lady has made a real nice garden.

Here is my reward for making it all the way to the park/lake.  I sit on the picnic table and ponder, say a prayer and then start back home.

I'd like to live here, but...

I would especially love to live here.  A perfect, unobstructed view of the lake--all day long, 365 days.  It would be like living in a cottage on a lake every single day!!



Almost everyone plants flowers.  Some gardens have no rhyme or reason.......

Others quite large and lovely...................

Pearl's place

Dar's place faces the neighbor's left-(quite close) instead of the road.

 Jackie's place.  She is recovering nicely from last week's knee replacement.

Between Pearl and me.
The Wiccan's place.  Sh-hh, it is daylight and they are sleeping.  Probably hanging upside down in their back room!

Home.  Sweet home.  Nice and shady, although my big Maple tree needs trimming, badly.

...and my neighbor's across the street.  The nicest positioning and lay-out of any place on this side of the park.  At least, they face the road.

Tomorrow, I think I will take my walk  up the service drive, to the right and back of the neighbor's place. (The same people who moved in last summer and spoiled my view!)

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After my Soap, I ran up to Wal-Mart....well actually I didn't RUN, I drove my car--and picked up a prescription, my Cortisone cream to heal the skeeter bites, some more Melatonin, so I can sleep at night and stopped at their eyeglass place to order my glasses.  I have had the prescription since before my birthday in June.  I have a $40.00 gift card from Pam.  I have $60.00 on my Wal-Mart savings card and I have $80.00 cash.  $180.00 total.  

I found frames for $58.00, almost exactly like the ones I now have.  I don't want any coating on the lenses.  I need Progressive lenses. $238.00 without tax.  ARGGH!!!!!

These that I have, I got at Costco two years ago. $189.00. I have never liked them.  They have an anti-glare coating ON the lenses.  Wal-Mart puts their anti-glare coating IN the lenses.  Thus, for the last year, my glasses have always looked smeary.  I have to clean them many times a day, because the coating is ON not IN the polycarbonate lens!!

But, I had to purchase a Costco membership, $50.00, in order to get my glasses, and which I never used for anything else BECAUSE, I don't need two jars of Jumbo sized peanut butter--or a gallon of dill pickles.  I can get large bundles of bathroom tissue and paper towels at Wal-Mart for a cheaper price.

I was so happy that my glasses at Costco were only $189.00, but add on the membership fee and that comes to $239.00.  My mid-priced glasses at Wal-Mart will be $238.00--with the anti-glare IN the lenses for free.  I could get better ones for $325.00, but that ain't happening~!

Now--if I can niggle or save $88.00 in the next few weeks, I will be able to get my new glasses and see clearly once again!
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Weird isn't it?  My life is just filled with stuff like this every single day.  LOL

Maple tree trim: $150.00
Needed car tires: $340.00-$400.00 (if I'm lucky and get cheap ones)
Doctor bill owed: $236.00
Dentist bill owed:  $213.00 (I pay $50.00 a month)
Brakes for car:  What--85.00 for brakes, 75.00 labor?  $150.00?

I am very grateful that today I received a notice from the McAuley Fund at St. Joseph Hospital, that will pay for my $1800.00 hospital bill and $419.00 ambulance bill from March 31 - April 3rd.

I have signed up for Blue Cross supplemental insurance, like I had before.  Only $40.42 a month, which is not the best insurance, BUT I won't have co-pays every time I step into the doc's office and I think, it will totally cover my Chiropractor visits.  Oh, I forgot, I owe him $217.00.

Easy to get very discouraged, when I see it all laid out like that above.  Easier to put it all on a credit card ($1650.00) and pay $50.00 a month on ALL of it, BUT--I am one year into bankruptcy and I have no credit cards.  I was offered a few--$175.00 yearly fee and 24.99 interest?  I think not!!!!!

But--I don't get discouraged!  Everything will work out--as it ALWAYS has.  For some reason, God must like me because it seems, for the last 30 years, something or someone always comes along to help and I don't think those happenings are coincidences!

As long as I don't have an emergency car repair, I will be all right.  I hear that gas prices are coming down.  Right there will add money to my budget!!
Everything is going to be all right!!!