THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!!!

I am loving this picture. Can you see the faces in the trees in the middle? This gives you an idea of how beautiful day it was here in Ohio. The sky was partly cloudy, the sky was a deep blue, the water was so calm since there was no wind to speak of, and, the temperature was in the low 70's.

Jenny had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and Larry took her. Meanwhile, I decided to get a manicure before I hit the road on Thursday morning. Before I left the house, I suggested to Jenny and Larry that I buy something for us for dinner and that we eat it at Mosquito Lake. This is probably going to be my last time at the lake for this trip. I've definitely enjoyed the few excursions we've made both on the water and beside the water.

As we sat down at our picnic table to eat, I noticed a sea gull to my left, sitting on the sidewalk, periodically calling out. I thought the bird was calling to a mate. Jenny said it was waiting for us to throw some food its way. Sure enough, Jenny said "Jonathan, come here!" and surprisingly the bird started walking towards us. Jenny through a bit of biscuit and bird snatched it up immediately. Then, of course, Larry and I had to get in on the action, so we threw pieces of biscuit and chicken out to the bird also. Unfortunately, some of the pieces fell just short of our table, and the bird wasn't about to get that close.

However, in the picture to the left, I noticed the bird flying overhead, and before we knew it he had flown down, swooped up the food and here he is taking off again. He performed this feat several times, getting the pieces that were too close to the table earlier.

Here is the same gull, finally getting the really big piece of biscuit that fell just beyond the table. You can see a bit of the table in the foreground. Crazy little buggers!!! Had a good time watching this one. One of his buddies flew down at one point to join in the feast and this one created quite a ruckus and managed to get most of the pieces of food.

On the way home I saw this sign at one of the local churches:

"I walk before God in the land of the living". I guess that's another way of saying "God has my back". I love the way that feels to me!!! Don't mean to get religious on you, but I do know that God really does have my back! I guess that's one of the reasons I feel pretty comfortable traveling by myself across country.

Sweet dreams!!!!

UPDATE ON IRENE!!!!

Remember when I was in Delaware staying with Sandy and Tom?

Sandy's in the pink and her husband is to her left. Jenny and Larry are in the front. This picture was taken at Rehoboth Beach, on the Atlantic coast of Delaware.

This morning I was talking to Sandy to get the latest update on what was happening since Hurricane Irene has passed through.

Apparently they have had, upto this point, 6" of rain, and it's still coming down. The actual eye has passed, but the aftermath is still affecting the State.

The weather in Georgetown, this summer, has been hot and dry, so the large amount of water has soaked into the ground. Sandy said Tom went out this morning to see if there was water standing on the ground, but there was not, it had all soaked into the ground. Good news. They had gone out yesterday and taken up all the obstacles that had been set up for the agility training and then parked all their vehicles in the field, in case any trees were uprooted. For those of you who haven't heard, Tom bought a new Ford Ranger and it's something like a mocha latte in color, which I believe is kind of a "beige" of sorts. Anyway, no damage to any of the vehicles.

This morning on CBS Sunday Morning, they talked about tornadoes hitting the state of Delaware. Sandy said she had heard that one had touched down near Rehoboth Beach, but was unclear of what damage had been done.

This was a picture I took at Rehoboth while I was there in June.

It's a beautiful beach and boardwalk, hopefully, none the worse for wear from Irene making her appearance.

Here in Ohio, the temperature at 11:30 a.m. is 71 degrees, partly cloudy with winds about 10 miles per hour. We aren't expecting any backlash from Irene, but I am hoping my friends in Massachusettes and Maine are safe and secure in their homes.

For my twin, Coley, just a note to let you know we heard from Ricky Booles' wife, Amanda, and she would like to have more communication with Lisa's family. They have a two year old, Kaleb, and I haven't gotten any pictures yet.

For everyone, in the storm or not, I send you hugs and my wish that each of you remain safe and surrounded by infinite Love!!!

ANOTHER AFTERNOON ON THE LAKE!!!

Today, Wednesday, Larry, Jenny and I spent the afternoon on the lake. Our day started out rather cool, 64 degrees at 10:30 am, but warmed up to a nice 83 degrees by 3:30 pm when we took the pontoon out to Mosquito Lake.

My fishing license had expired, so Jenny and I took our books to read while Larry fished. We knew before we got out on the water there was a breeze blowing, but once we were out on the water, WOW, the breeze was really strong.

As Jenny and I sat on our own boat seat, the boat began to rock back and forth. Sometimes it rocked so hard, I had to hold onto the side of the boat to keep from being pitched off onto the floor. At one point, right before we got ready to head back, Jenny and Larry both stood up to do something and the boat pitched to one side. Jenny was thrown off balance and hit her bad leg on the side of the seat she was sitting on and Larry fell to the floor. Neither of them was hurt badly, simply bruised. It was then we decided the water was too rough so we headed back to the dock.

The sky was a beautiful blue with patches of white clouds, looked like cotton balls all over the sky.

This picture to the left was taken with symmetricam. I love the head with the pompador look, so Marie Antoinette.

We are all safely back at home, worn out by our afternoon in the fresh air, being tossed about on the boat.

Sleep well my angels!!!!!

REHAB!

My sister made it to her first rehab session and they really worked her in the pool. We are both hopeful the hydrotherapy will help strengthen both her legs and reduce the swelling of the bulge in her spine.

This will give you an idea of how tired Jenny was after spending an hour working out in the pool. After she got one of her white slippers on, she was too tired to put the other one on, so she left the blue one on. We both got a chuckle out of this picture being on the blog.

For supper Jenny got her recipe out for "veggie pizza". It's a cold pizza,and look how delicious it looks. The crust is made out of crescent rolls pinched together to make one crust and then baked at the temperature listed until brown. Take the pizza out and let it cool.

For the "sauce" combine one cup of mayo with two packages of softened cream cheese and one packet of dry ranch dressing. Spread on top of the cold crust, then add any veggies you'd like. We had broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, onions, and olives chopped up. Once it's all together, slice into small portions and serve. It is absolutely delicious and wonderful as a summer dish. The picture to the left is the symmetricam picture.

Here's what the pizza looked like before we cut into it. MMMMMMM, good!!!!

We have another appointment for rehab tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed this really helps Jenny get back on her feet. She's hoping to return to work on the 29th of this month.

As an FYI, tonight the temperature is going down into the 40's, BRRRRRRR!!!! Don't mean to rub it in, I hope your temperatures are dropping to a comfortable level for you. Love to all!!!

FISHING, AGAIN!!!!

A couple of days ago, I went fishing for the first time in nearly 15 years. Yesterday, I had the chance to go out on the pontoon boat for the second time to go fishing. YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I'm getting quite good at casting my line out and having a really great time, just sittin' and fishin' and doin' nothin'.

How is that different from my day to day activities since I retired, you might ask? Fishin'---that's the difference, otherwise, another day, another opportunity for doing nothin'. I'm getting really good at being in the rhythm of doing nothing. There was a time when having days to do nothing was not in my life, I lived by a day-timer and most days had some something to do. I'm still loving this retirement thing!!! Wish I had more friends and family who could come play with me.

This first picture is of Cody's fish he caught. It's a perch and a little bit larger than the perch I also caught on this day. Cody is a nephew on Larry's side of the family. He was so helpful getting my minnows and worms on my fishing line, and helped to get my one fish off the hook. Even though I can do those things for myself, it's so nice to have a young man helping.

Here's Cody holding up Larry's 10 lb. catfish. It put up quite a struggle and Cody was able to get underneath it with the net to get it in the boat. Nice going, Larry!!!!

We didn't keep any of the fish, we threw the smaller ones back instantly, and let the larger "cat" go after an hour or so. We were out on the water for about 5 hours.

Here's what it looked like as we were headed back to the dock. A beautiful finish for our beautiful day.

Since I'll be leaving in a couple of weeks, this fishing trip was probably my last one for quite some time.

To all my friends and family, I send hugs!!!! Looking forward to our next time together!!!

DOING THE TOURIST THING!!

A couple of days ago, Jenny, Larry and I drove up North to visit a couple of places she had been telling me about.

Our first stop was at a place called "The Commons", which is a deli/restaurant/store owned and operated by an Amish family. This wooden horse and buggy sit just across the street from the store. We had planned on eating at the restaurant, which we did, and which was pretty disappointing. The food was OK, but most of it was prepared off site and didn't have that homemade quality to it. Larry ordered a BLT and it came with one slice of bacon. He had ordered it before and it came loaded with bacon, so he was really disappointed.

We drove further North and came upon the largest covered bridge in Ohio at a place called Harpersfield. We had taken chairs, so we sat on the bank of the river watching people play in the water, and little guys with their fishing poles catching baby fish and having to be enticed to throw them back into the water. One little tyke would not throw it back until he could show Mommy what he'd caught. I just knew by the time he got to his Mom and then released the fish, that the fish had died, but apparently it had just enough air left to survive the trauma. We stayed there for about an hour and then got into the car and drove to our next site.

Geneva on the Lake, in Geneva, Ohio. Located on Lake Erie, it's a nice bustling tourist location with many cottages for rent along the lake. In the village are a number of restaurants, tourist shops, t-shirt shops, you name it. This particular location where we got out of the car is the local park with benches and picnic tables set up for people to spend a few minutes, or spend the day.

The weather was a cool 75-78 degrees. Absolutely beautiful the entire day. We all enjoyed the drive and enjoyed the fresh air. Jenny and I both mused about how great it would be to own a cottage sitting on a beautiful lake and to be able to sit on the porch watching the water and the sun as it rises or sets. Oh well, perhaps with my winnings in the Lottery!!!

Ain't life grand!!!! Adios until next time!!!!

GONE FISHIN'!!!

Yesterday, Jenny, Larry and I got in the pontoon boat and headed to Larry's favorite fishin' hole. This is my rod and reel, Larry actually gave me his favorite Zebco 808 reel with push button handling. We sat in the boat at Mosquito Lake, the temperature was in the high 70's, maybe even a little chilly and Larry and I fished. Would you believe it, I actually caught a fish. If I said it was a whopper, that would be a whopper of a lie. Larry said it was hardly bigger than my minnor, but nonetheless, it was a fish, we think a baby walleye. Ask me how many fish Larry caught--- nada, zilch, zero, none. We stayed out on the lake for nearly five hours and it was so peaceful and relaxing. Jenny took her book and read while we fished. I had a really good time, I haven't been fishing in quite some time, so it was nice revisiting this activity. Hope to do it again, maybe tomorrow, if no rain.

As we headed back to the dock to disembark, I noticed the sun sitting low in the sky shimmering off the water. I took this picture with the "fish eye" lens of my camera and I think it turned out pretty nice.

Here's a couple of pictures I took this morning. As I returned from going to the RV supply shop, I noticed this beautiful butterfly sitting just below my slideout. So the picture to the far right is of the butterfly and the other one is taken with the lens called "symmetricam". I always enjoy seeing what turns out when I use these different FX lenses. Pretty fun!!!

As I prepare to turn in for the night, I hope all of you are enjoying beautiful skies, wonderful temperatures and the company of friends and family. Love to all!!!!

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH!!

Would you believe that as I was traveling down Ohio Route 5, I saw a sign on the side of the road that said "The Center of the World". According to my sister, Leavittsburg is purportedly right in the center of the Earth. Who would have ever thought that as I'm meandering I'd come across the center of the world!!! Go figure!!! And in Ohio of all places!!!

Now, here's another amazing thing. See the picture to the left, well, just above my mirror is an insect called a "katydid". It looks somewhat like a grasshopper, with large legs in the back, and a large set of antennae on it's head, but the body is fuller, more rounded than a grasshopper. Yesterday, I drove about 25 miles to drop off my vacuum cleaner at a Sears Appliance Service Center. Just as I got into my truck, I noticed the bug you see here. As I got on the interstate, doing about 65 miles per hour, I couldn't help but look over periodically to see if it was still on the mirror. It was!!! That bug stayed on the mirror all the way to the service center, stayed there until I came out of the service center, and, stayed there until I drove to Cracker Barrel, but at some point while I was in the restaurant having a leisurely lunch, it decided to take a hike. Guess the little bugger got tired of hanging around in the sun and went to find another ride.

You guys know how much I love playing around with the symmetricam camera. So, here's a picture I took of Jenny the other day. She laughed and said "I don't think I was ever that skinny!!"

She looks very prim and proper, don't you think?!

I'm still hanging out in Ohio. My sister has an appointment with a physical therapist for next week, so I hope we'll be able to do some really good exercises to help get her back and her legs in better shape before I leave the end of the month.

Coley is back in Costa Rica and is currently helping out at Vista Azule. She'll be there until she flies back to the States to meet me in New Orleans in November. Sherri and Steve have returned from South Dakota where they had a marvelous time visiting some of the better know sites, like Mt. Rushmore and Sturgis (where they hold a massive motorcycle rally each year). Just learned today my brother, Jeff, was sick for an entire week. Sorry to hear about that Jeff. Hope you're doing much better and Jenny and I will be in touch in the next couple of days!!!

All my other friends and family, stay well, do good work, and remember I love you!!!

A DAY OF EASE!!!!

Some of you might be asking, "a day of ease, how is that different from any other day you're having?" Well, I'll tell you. Today was about being in my space, reconnecting with my home.

Today was about spending the day in my pj's and about not brushing my teeth or my hair. Today was about organizing the piles that had begun to take over my dining roon table. Today was a day about eating when I was hungry, drinking when I was thirsty, relaxing when I was tired, watching tv when I needed to be entertained. In short, today was day all about me.

When I got out of bed this morning, I knew in my heart Jenny needed some alone time. Not that she would ever tell me that, but I felt she needed to be able to nap if needed, and to spend the day in her pj's as well.

Tonight she called to see if I wanted them to order a fish sandwich for me to go along with theirs. I had already fixed and eaten red beans and rice with smoked sausage, so I told her no, not for me.

We both got a chuckle out of the fact she was calling her backyard to connect with me. She said "it's like I'm calling long distance, but you're just outside my back door!"

So, today was about rest-oring my spirit, (my friend, Cathy from Heartwood's message). Today was about being in simplicity, being in peace, being in the moments of my day in a way that speaks to my soul. Take the time for yourself, to spend the day doing just what you want, when you want, how you want and where you want. It's all about your personal journey and how you choose to rest(ore) your spirit.

P.S. the pics are Jenny's hibiscus bushes, three different colors. One of the pics is taken with the symmetricam feature of my camera. Beautiful, yes!!!!!

GREAT NEWS!!!!!

Today, Jenny, Larry and I arrived at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, for Jenny's "second opinion" appointment. The Cleveland Clinic is renowned world-wide as a leading academic and research hospital, and it's a non-profit agency. Recently, Jenny read that Martin Sheen had been to the clinic for some sort of treatment. At least she thinks it was Martin Sheen, so don't quote me.

This picture above was taken in front of the clinic and is the most beautiful pool. It looks like the water magically stays in this shape and you can see the rocks along the bottom. It really is quite beautiful to see. We all really like the doctor Jenny saw today. The good news is he agrees with us, surgery is the absolute last option. He wrote her a script for physical therapy, and agrees that chiropractic work would help along with shots, I think they are some kind of steroid shot. We're both hoping she'll be given some pool work to do so I can help her with her exercises both in and out of the pool. He did say it could take a couple more months before she'll know if it's working. She felt so much better and optimistic after talking with him, so did I.

As we headed back to Warren I took this picture of the First Mt. Zion Baptist Church. It's an incredible looking church, I wish the picture had more ooomph to it, it really doesn't do the architecture justice.

By the time we left the Cleveland Clinic, we were all pretty hungry so we stopped in a little place called Shaker Heights and went to the town square called Shaker Square and had lunch. Here's Larry and Jenny headed into the restaurant called Yours Truly. We had a good lunch of omelet, chicken walnut salad and chicken tender salad. Yum, yum!!!!! On the way back we took a little detour and drove through Chagrin Falls. This is where Shelia's daughter and her partner lived for several years. It looks the same, Shelia, and I thought about the last time you were here visiting.

Time to get to bed. Sleep well all you prince's and princesses' out there!!!!