Go! Day and Not According to Hoyle

I almost never have a bad day. Most are salvageable. A glass of wine, a chunk of cheese, a good book on the late afternoon patio, and I forget the little things that didn't go right - according to Hoyle. I play the part of Hoyle and write the rules.

Today, though, I am on a massive search for the battery charger bed for my Sony Rx100 camera. Have the cord, not the other piece. It isn't where it should be or where small, misplaced items are likely to end up eventually. Looking for and find the box it came in. There is a spare battery but it needs charging too. Scouring the Nikon bag; everything there, should be. Pull out the Canon bag. Ditto. Neither charger will work on the Sony.

Everything is everywhere, and in steps the housekeeper. Gasping. Out of gasoline. Needs cash not check. So off I go to the grocery store for a quick hit on my card. I never have money. I spend my cash at the growers markets. It's already noon, so I pick up a quick lunch. Chicken (surely not free range) fried in anything but a healthy oil and a slice of deli cornbread (probably full of lard). The small green tea with ginseng and honey turns out to be laced with sugar. I sigh. I munch. The American way.

Home again; the news is nothing if not bad. One vacuum not working and the backup chooses to clean only carpet. No tile. I throw the Oreck in the car and set out. Across Capital Circle from the Dale Earnhardt Jr. car dealership.
And what do you think? Gone. Vanished in plain sight. Online cellphone searching cannot locate an Oreck service center at another Tallahassee address. I know of one,  but I bought the Miele there. I should take them in together.

Bemused, I set out for PetSmart - a destination that is always fun! But, no. The new sunflower seed container doesn't have a price. Boxes of Fresh Step are too high for me to reach and are available only in the huge/heavy sizes. The store is out of the Science Diet for ancient, fur-ball-prone, picky cats so I wait while someone checks the storage room. Coming out is downhill. Literally. My buggy is so heavy that it takes on a life of it's own. It's headed to the car with me running along behind.

Trunk full of animal supplies and a broken vacuum, I u-turn north to the dry-cleaner. Mine is owned by my next-door-neighbor and they treat me like royalty. In and out without incident, I begin to chuckle. Spell is broken. No. Suddenly, CRASH!

Just as I'm about to turn left and head for Fresh Market (and the buy one get one free crab cakes) a school bus backs over the stop sign/street sign and takes it down. All of the soccer moms stop their cars and try to help. The huge sign will not be dislodged from under the bus. I don't know if the bus is full or empty. I turn right instead of left and detour to the grocery store.

Someone, blond and crisp, is blowing furiously at me and waving his arm (you know) as I'm leaving the store parking lot. He thinks I am some grey haired little old lady creeping along in the big Tahoe. He doesn't see the guy without legs, in the low wheel chair, trying to motivate the incline to get into the store. Go ahead and blow, you handsome, beautiful, Creep. One day you will be over seventy, too. And careful. And having a bad day - but not as bad as the old fellow rolling his chair up the hill.

I'm at home now. The search continues for the battery charger and the Oreck and Miele instruction booklets have been added to the list. I've fixed my coffee pot, my convection oven, my Bose, and my electric toothbrush. Maybe I can fix my vacuum cleaners!

My to-dos have actually grown since early this morning. I don't care. I'm going to steam some spinach and open a beer while the crab cakes are cooking. I sometimes do laundry in the evenings while I read or watch TV, but not tonight. The water pipes might break!

Postscript: A truck just drove up, speakers blasting. Do you think it's my guys come to fix the spot where my patio fountain is falling in? Sigh. Probably not.

 

New Meaning to the Words "Safe Trip"

The wildflowers were beautiful this morning along I-10 between Jacksonville and Tallahassee (photo borrowed from Amazon). There is no place to stop and take pictures in the spots where they are lush. The cool weather this spring, plus constant rains last week, created a masterpiece! 

After riding east in storms and wind yesterday, how wonderful to come west in sunglasses under a sky full of sunshine. Not a cloud in sight. So, of course, I sang.

Heading west in the fast lane, a convoy of at least a dozen Duval County Sheriff vehicles, including the canine truck, led my way through the Jacksonville clutter. They have been working on that exit since I moved to Florida in the '60's without ceasing. I don't try to figure it out unless they have the signs covered. Believe me, that has happened more than once!

Needless to say, there were no speeders on the way home to Leon County today. Even though the whole group turned into the rest stop just after the Tampa turn off, we drivers imagined their presence behind us continually and kept it really cool. 

Then there were the troopers. Their usual hiding places were bogged down and flooded. The little cypress swamp at Osceola was a lake and the pine forests were sporting recently-born rivulets trickling merrily along. Yet, the highway patrol was in evidence everywhere - all the water flushing them out of their usual invisibility. 

Not only that, the Army was moving Humvee and other unrecognizable wheeled paraphernalia in the lanes going east. For as far as the eye could see. Uncle Sam, busy on a Sunday morning!

Of course, I got that feeling that comes over me! A full tank of gas, the music of the ''70's, fast food breakfast and iced coffee. Policemen, State Troopers, the Army. Beautiful wildflowers blooming profusely. Sun shining on lush woodlands. (http://www.floridawildlifeviewing.com/florida_wildlife_hotspots/SpringWildflowers.htm) 

I felt proud to be an American and lucky to live in beautiful Florida. In a world full of danger, turmoil, and uncertainty, this morning, I never felt safer!