Granny Camp - Food and Fiber Optics

Granny Camp is always a hoot. It was no different today. Tom and Jack eat an early breakfast but I always give them a little something more when they come to camp. It keeps the sweet mid-morning snacks way down.

Today I served breakfast at the tea table in my bedroom/study. We discussed iPads and Kindle, the differences, the preferences, the speakers, what we liked and what we didn't.

We tried, as we always do, to lure Belle into camp mode by offering treats. She has always shied away from Jack and Tom. Today, we were in for a huge surprise. The cat marched into the kitchen, took her place at her bowl, and accepted the pieces of food that the boys offered her!

Bell spent breakfast curled up on the floor at the foot of the bed watching the boys eat bacon and biscuits. Later, she took up a position in the dining room. When Jack tried to play with her, she chased the mouse on the string! "I think she likes us now," said Tom. She should! She's known them since they were born!

Mid-morning, we went on a field trip to Books-a-Million. I was surprised that the boys had never been. We chose some primary readers and a couple of educational toys. Then we discovered a fiber optic lamp! Oh, yes, we had to have that, too!

Back in the car, we voted (3-0) to go home for mac and cheese, lemonade, and fruit instead of eating out. Tom dashed to the linen cabinet and set the tea table with a square of Belgian table cloth and the small napkins that go with it. Jack set the fiber optic lamp in the middle of the table and turned it on. They closed the blinds and made the room as dark as they could.

From the kitchen, I heard someone say, "Granny, we are having a romantic lunch." Not my words. His. I had to chuckle!

After lunch, we usually rest for awhile with iPads or a movie. Not today! Today, we sat in the very back of my clothes closet - on the floor - with the door shut, amazed by the fiber optic lamp. We touched the fibers and also the base of the lamp, put it on different settings, and enjoyed the beautiful quiet. Tom got the Kindle and played the music from one of his games. We stayed totally in the moment until someone thought of the cookies we had thawing.

So, we took our chocolate chip cookies out to the porch and watched Squirrel play until Beth came. One of the books was chosen for tonight's reading lesson/story time. Beth got a fiber optics demo and maybe she remembered to grab a cookie! Lots of waving goodbye, until tomorrow.

Return of the Gentleman Caller

No. Not Tennessee Williams.

I've documented my gentleman callers for years on these pages and in my facebook notes. They come from everywhere. Retired professionals working part-time at odd jobs, a friend's father, a casual grocery store encounter, someone I met having lunch with someone else. They never pan out. If you remember, the last one turned out to be senile. I haven't made much eye contact with men my age since then.

It doesn't help that I've been in the position to have many male friends over the years and today. I think nothing of it. Sometimes men get confused, however, and believe that I'm doing a little spooning of my own. A lot of the gentlemen my age have never had female friends. They think I'm out to get a husband, a dinner date, a ride.

I know the difference! I also recognize a gentleman caller when I see one. I usually back up, lower my head, and tense up my shoulders. They almost always want a wife, a dinner date, or a ride. Most of us in this group can no longer see to drive at night.

So I went into Publix to get some supplies for Granny Camp and a couple of umbrellas. The storm began as soon as I entered the safety of the store. I was still dry. (I've lost and broken all my rain gear this summer. It's been like monsoon season around here.)

My latest gentleman caller met me at the store entrance. "Find me when you get to check-out and I will take you out to your car." I shook my head. "I'm going to buy an umbrella." Sometimes I can't help smiling. "No, we'll let you wear a Publix poncho." He points to the stack of plastic rain gear near the door.

I wandered the aisles picking up child-friendly food. I snatched up the last huge, ugly golf umbrella. I selected a small purse umbrella. I've been soaked three times this week. I've ripped my coat and demolished my two purse umbrellas. I headed to the front of the store.

Of course, I ignored the idea of finding anyone special to help me outside. I never get help. It gives me a little exercise to wrestle with cat liter, cases of cold drinks, and big jugs of detergent. I paid for my items and looked towards the door. The gentleman caller was standing, hand on poncho. I gestured outside. The sun was shining brightly!

The moral of the story is this. If you want the sun to come out, buy rain gear!!!

Review from the Beach Books Stack.

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hiaasen works are the satiric face of Florida. A friend gave me the little Hiaasen paperback for my short flight from Jacksonville to Tampa (on my way to Sarasota in a rental car) headed for my first Board meeting all those many years ago.

Lawton Chiles was Governor and had appointed me to a position that I would hold for ten years. One of the characters in that borrowed book was rumored to be based on the Governor's personality. Floridians called Chiles "walkin' Lawton" and other loving names. He even had nicknames for himself! A most colorful personality!

I've chuckled and churned my way through the Carl Hiaasen books ever since, as Board life introduced me to a Florida very much akin to the one that Hiaasen caricatures. I've followed his weekly offerings via the Miami Herald. In other words, I am a huge fan - not only of the zaniness/unlikeliness/down-and-dirty truthfulness of the books but also of the amazing and misunderstood Florida mystique that always makes national news - where it does not seem quite so humorous.

Bad Monkey - a book about Medicare fraud, hurricanes, monkeys, dirty restaurants, salt life and other Florida-type topics - cracked me up. You would have to know my history as a soldier in the war against Florida insurance fraud to get why I laughed so loud in the middle of the night that I woke the cat.

I had a co-worker once who took a Florida wild monkey for a pet. I've known dozens of professionals in south Florida who spoke with the island accent and others who had "no English" when the chips were down. I've seen first hand the unthinkable antics of those who will defraud the government, especially using durable medical equipment in their schemes. Not to mention the food inspectors who comprise a gang of their own!

You might have guessed that this is not a book review. Loved it! Can't wait for the next one!







View all my reviews