Okay, I’ll just flat out say it – “I’m GRUMPY!”  Most of the time I manage to roll with the punches, and, when I get annoyed, I can usually manage to shake myself out of it.  But, you know what?  There are days when you just need to “get your grump on!”

First off, I have a lovely landscaped shrubbery bed in which I have a little village of rock houses, with little wooden fences around each.  Yesterday, the guy from the landscaping company our homes association uses,  decided to trim a couple of my bushes which didn’t need trimmed and he stepped inside the bed, heedless of where he put his monstrous size 14 feet.  In the process, he managed to totally  decimate two complete fences!  He didn’t just knock them to the ground.  No, he ground them into the dirt!  By the time I ran outside, it was too late.  I pointed out what he had done and he got this clueless look on his face and murmured, “Oh yeah, sorry,” and moved on to the house next door.  I’VE GOT YOUR SORRY RIGHT HERE, BUSTER!

Next, you know how my friend, Babs, and I had this whole hiking schedule set up for this summer?  Well, that’s shot to hell!  You wanna know why?  Because her husband had to go and fall off a ladder and break his hip!  Now I know that becoming an invalid was the last thing he ever wanted to do this summer.  And I do sympathize with the awful pain and feelings of helplessness he has gone through. Let me be clear – I really like and respect her husband.  BUT, and this is a big “but,” guess who has had to become his legs, his nurse and his driver?  You guessed it – Babs.  It doesn’t leave her much time for playing.  We’ve managed to squeeze a couple of outings in since his accident, but too few for either one of us.  Our summer is quickly slipping away and my buddy is tied to her house!  All our big plans have been put on indefinite “hold” and it adds to my grumpiness.  Yes, I’m being selfish!  WANNA MAKE  SOMETHING OF IT?

I could go on and on, but I’ll just add one final grump-inducer.  Earlier in the year I wrote this post about a tooth my dentist has practically written off.  He was starting to talk dental implants for that tooth and one adjoining it.  The problem with that is that I found out my health insurance doesn’t cover dental implants, and we’re talking big money here – a thousand apiece for each implant and then almost another thousand each for the crowns.  So, I’ve been being very careful with that tooth and all has been well.  Unfortunately, this past week I noticed the gum above that tooth felt a little funny when I ran my tongue over it.  There was no pain, mind you, but it seemed a bit puffy.  When I checked it out with a dental mirror, it appeared that a little bit of the gum was actually “dripping” over the crown!  It looked bizarre, like a little teardrop.   I saw the dentist on Tuesday and he said it was a periodontal abscess and had the hygienist drain it and clean it.  Then he started me on antibiotics.  I have no idea if this will solve the problem, but it raised the whole “that tooth’s gonna go, sooner or later” discussion.  So, that’s at the back of my brain…causing me worry and MAKING ME GRUMPY!

I know that in the whole scheme of the world, these are just mini-problems.  The first one is a done deal.  The second one will (hopefully!) become less of a problem as time goes by.  And the third one is something I’ll deal with when it happens.  I always do.  They’re pretty much like the kind of problems everybody has.  It’s just that today I’m not in my Pollyanna mood.   I’m in my Grumpy mood.  If you have any grumps you’d like to share, feel free to comment.  Meanwhile, I think I’m going to go somewhere and have a good scowl!

I’ve written before of my suspicion that certain so-called “inanimate objects” often, in fact, have minds of their own.  And unfortunately, those minds are obsessed with one desire – to torment, annoy or hoodwink their humans.  I’ve recently experienced two new cases.

First off, I was on my front porch washing the front of my house.  I have siding, and when a hard rain blows on it, it leaves dirt.  So, I get on my little ladder, armed with a bucket of soapy water, scrub it down and then rinse it with a hose.  I have one of those neat little adjustable hose heads that have multiple settings such as “shower,” “flat,” “mist,” “full,” and “jet.”  All was going well until the hose slipped out of my hand and the hose head hit the concrete – hard!  When I climbed down to get it, the hose head suddenly went on a suicidal rampage!  Not only was it swishing around, but water was spurting through all the holes. It was losing its mind! I attempted to subdue the suspect, but, when that didn’t work, I turned off the water.  After a close examination and seeing nothing loose or cracked, I tried it again, but it ignored all settings, spilling its guts out and squirming to get away or soak me to the bone, whichever came first!  Clearly, it had gone insane.  It must have sustained a concussion when it fell and I was finally forced to “put it down” as one would a rabid dog.

The other example is my leather recliner.  Recliners, as a whole, are smarter than you think.  They never resort to violence.  They don’t have to.  Instead, they’re very sly.  Over the years they manage to embezzle coins, pens, M & M’s and all sorts of other things without your knowing it.  Here’s how it happens.  You’ll drop or lose a pen or something, but, when you check the seat cushion, nothing’s there.  Consequently, you’ll start looking around on the floor.  But, you won’t find it because your item has been swallowed by the recliner! Oh yes, my friend!  Your item has been digested by that wily chair!

But I’m wise to my recliner’s ways.  Oh, yeah!  The other day I dropped my e-cig while I was sitting in the chair.  When I searched the seat cushion, it had disappeared.  But I knew how to deal with it!  You see, lately I’ve been checking out episodes of “All Creatures Great and Small” from the library.  It is a great British series about veterinarians in the English countryside.  One interesting thing I’ve learned is that when they need to help a cow give birth, they roll up their sleeve and then shove their arm into the cow’s rear end, all the way up to the elbow.  They then feel around until they can position a calf for birth or grab a hoof and start pulling.  As a city girl, the first time I saw this I was mortified, especially seeing a whole baby cow come out of, you know…there! But, it happens a lot in this series and I now find it fascinating.  So anyway, I knew the technique.

So, I rolled up my sleeve and shoved it into the back end of the recliner and felt around until I found my e-cig and gently pulled it out.  While I was at it, I also found two pens, a stray M & M and twenty-six cents!  No English vet could have done it better!

So, in conclusion, my advice to you is – “Never let your furniture get the better of you and never, ever turn your back on an insane hose head!” But then, I bet your mama told you that a long time ago – right?

Today seemed to be a good day to do a few follow-ups and throw in the odd thought or two, so here goes:

(1) Remember earlier in the summer when I complained about the cottonwood trees behind my house shedding bits of “cotton” to the point where I could hardly sit on my balcony without getting them in my mouth and eyes?  Well, in a normal summer, all the shedding would be done and that whole mess would be just a memory.  But this year?  Oh, no!  This year I don’t think those trees are ever going to be finished!

But, to add insult to injury, they haven’t been content to just shed little cotton-ball-size pieces.  Now, they’re dropping great big GLOBS of the stuff, creating a snowdrift effect.  This is what my driveway looks like.  Nice, eh?  The stuff is everywhere!  Help!

(2) Remember the aliens I found in my flower pot in this post?  Well, they were, indeed, of a higher intelligence.  I went out the next day to attempt to communicate with them, only to find that they had disguised themselves as mushrooms!  As if I’d fall for that old trick!  If you look closely, you can still see bits of their antennae.  Brother!  That night after it had turned dark, I heard what sounded like a rocket noise out on the balcony.  When I went out to investigate they were gone.  I hope one day they’ll return…

(3) This next thing isn’t a big thing, just a very odd and somewhat disturbing thing.  One of the trees in front of my house has grown…a BOOB!  I guess I won’t start to really worry until it grows another one...or something else!

(4) Last, but certainly not least – yesterday marked exactly one month since I smoked my last real cigarette!  Since I never really set out to quit, this whole thing has taken me by surprise.  But I must give all the credit to the invention of the e-cigarette.  If this electronic gismo hadn’t satisfied all my smoking yearnings, I would still be inhaling all those tars and carcinogens.  Once I discovered all the many flavors of e-juice (that makes the vapor,) I knew that this was going to actually work for me.  If you know someone who wants to quit or get away from tobacco cigarettes and plans to try e-cigs, you might suggest they order the e-juice.  The first e-cig I ordered simply came with flavored cartridges and, for me, those just didn’t cut it for flavor.  I almost gave up right then, but decided to try the juice.  It made all the difference.  So anyway, I guess I could say, “Hurray for me!”   Right?

Until next time, take care,

It’s been awhile since my last cloud patrol episode, but it’s not because I’ve been at a loss for clouds.  It’s just that, for a time, the clouds that did appear were pretty, but had no artistic or creative sense whatsoever.  So, I had to wait them out.  I often wonder what my neighbors think when I’m out there gazing into the sky for long periods of time.  Most likely they wrote me off as a kook a long time ago!  Anyway, I do have some new ones for you.

This first one is the most complicated.  It’s a cloud airplane flying under cloud-clouds.  It’s in the bottom left of the picture.  The nose is right in the bottom center of the picture and you can see the right wing.  See it?

This next one is a French poodle, sitting up, begging.  You can’t see his whole body, but you can see his big nose and his French poodle head.

This one I like to call “evil genie”  Or it could be some kind of monster.  See his face peeking out over the top of the house?  His nose curls up.  He’s frowning, and you can definitely see his eye and his mouth.  I think he has some smoke coming out of the top of his head.

Finally, this last one is the most simple, but also the most perfect.  It’s the head of a simple guy, who could be Ichabod Crane from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”  Anyway, whoever he is, he’s up there in the sky doing his own cloud patrol!   If you can’t see this face, I’m worried about you!

Okay, that’s all for now!  As usual… keep your eyes on the skies!

Okay, a weird thing happened this morning…or last night, but I just discovered it this morning. First things first, though.  Yesterday I was out on my balcony marveling at the fact that my remaining yucca plant, which I had to dig up and plant in a flowerpot to save from a urinating dog terrorist, was finally actually recovering when it had been as good as dead.  I gave it a little water and lots of praise for being “such a brave little yucca!” Nothing else unusual was noteworthy except for this miraculous recovery.

BUT TODAY…I was eating breakfast and gazed out the balcony door and noticed something yellow in the yucca flowerpot.  For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what it could be.  From a distance, it looked like this:The only thing I could think was that they were mushrooms, but I’d never seen any which were shaped like that!  They were firmly in the soil.  I was about to reach down and feel them when they turned around! This is what I saw!I know.  I know. But don’t panic.  They appear to be friendly enough.  I took a closer look…

I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty confident that they are “not of this world.”  So far they haven’t spoken or done anything except stare at me like that and smile, but I don’t sense a threat.  Who would have dreamed that alien antennae would look just like broken off toothpicks?  Not me!

Anyhow, of all the people in the universe they could have picked for first contact, I’m sure glad they picked me!

Last week I brought you some incredible sand sculptures to lend more of a “fun” tone to our lives as summer sizzles into July.  And now I’ve discovered something new for this week that I think is worth sharing.  Two Brazilian artists, Anderson Augusto and Leonardo Delafuente, as part of a street art project called 6emeia, have converted storm drains in Sao Paolo into works of art.  Here are a few of my favorites.

I call this first one “Pencil Guy.”

This one is rather sickly. I think this car one is really a hoot!

And finally, for those days when the “monster” is really dragging you down…

Whether this is your cup of tea or not, I think you have to give the artists credit for originality.  As for me, I love when people take everyday objects and turn them into whimsical wonderful works of art.  I hope they brought a little joy to your day, like they did mine!

Have you noticed how members of the media in America today are like a pack of voracious vampires who, given the slightest whiff of blood, attack a story and won’t let go of it for days or weeks, until they’ve sucked it so dry that there’s nothing left?

Whether it’s the death of Michael Jackson or the infidelity of South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford, they are never content to simply report a story and then move on.  Oh no!  Neighbors are interviewed.  Emails are hacked.  Experts and pseudo-experts give their opinions ad infinitum until I just want to scream!  I watch the same national news shows every morning, and for the past week it’s just the same things over and over with maybe a new detail here or another speculation there. And I’ve no doubt that this will continue until they find a new victim to eviscerate.

Do they really think the general public is salivating to hear the juiciest bit of dirt and the most personal  secrets of people in the public eye to satisfy some sick “need to know?”  Or, is it more self-serving than that?  Do each of them hope that they’ll be the one to discover that one shocking tidbit that will propel their career to the top?

I believe that somewhere along the line the general media has lost its way.  There’s important news and then there’s this gossipy tabloid-like reporting in which nothing is off limits and no question is considered too intrusive.  I’ve seen many a famous anchor person shove a microphone in the face of someone who has just had a loved one murdered or who has lost everything in the world to a hurricane or flood and ask, “So, how do you feel?”  IT PISSES ME OFF! I always end up yelling at the TV, “How do you think they feel, you idiot?”  Is it really news to broadcast someone’s private sorrow?  I personally find it painful.  What kind of country are we becoming, anyhow?

If I sound like I’m on a rant, it’s because I am.  Call me old-fashioned, but I miss the days when reporters were people of honor and reported hard news and didn’t behave like junior high gossips who, upon discovering a scandal, can’t wait to grab the first passerby, whisper in their ear and murmur, “Pass it on!”  There used to be a clear line between credible news agencies and Hollywood gossip shows like “Entertainment Tonight” and “TMZ.”  But lately that line is fading fast, and I, for one, think it’s a shame!

Thanks, I feel better now.

I like to think of myself as someone who is mentally competent in every way.  I’m independent.  I pay my bills and taxes.  I have a good memory.  I keep appointments – all the requirements of being a fully functional, productive member of society.  But there’s one little thing that’s starting to worry me.

Awhile back, I wrote a post entitled, “The Land of Lost Stuff?” in which I jokingly reported how certain things seem to vanish from my life.  I considered it amusing…until now.

One of my favorite pieces of jewelry is, not surprisingly, considering the name of this blog, a star necklace.  It wasn’t expensive because I’ve never been a jewelry snob.  It was a simple star outlined in rhinestones and it was from Wal-mart.  Nonetheless, I loved it and wore it almost every day when what I was wearing allowed it.  You might say it was my signature piece of jewelry.

So, I was getting dressed the other morning and went to put the necklace on and it wasn’t on the dressing table where I always keep it, nor was it on the wall where I hang my other necklaces.  I was puzzled.  I mean, it’s always there – every single day!  I proceeded to look on the floor and in the wastebasket under the dressing table, thinking it might have gotten brushed off  – nothing.  It just doesn’t make sense!  That’s where I always take it off, nowhere else.

Of course, at this point I began to ransack the house, looking in every possible place a necklace could hide, even though in my heart I knew that I’d never carry it around.  I looked under rugs, in the medicine cabinet and in drawers.  It is absolutely NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

So, what happened to it?  Am I, little by little, losing my mind?  Is this the kind of thing that starts out gradually with little things and then one day I’ll find myself dancing naked through the traffic singing “You Can’t Hurry Love” at the top of my lungs?  This sudden vanishing thing scares me.  It really does.  How is something there one minute and gone the next?  Should I fear for my sanity?

Or, should I buy into my original theory that sometimes, in my house at least, things just “vanish” from time to time and go to the Land of Lost Stuff?  You know, I think I’ll pick this explanation because the other is too awful to contemplate.

After all, I’m a firm believer that sometimes a little denial is just what you need to get you through the day…

When it’s hot and humid and you’re sweaty and grumpy, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the fun parts of summer, and maybe I’ve been a little guilty of that.  So, to make up for it, I’m going to share some absolutely amazing sand sculptures I’ve come across.

This first one is exactly the type of sand sculpture I’d make if I had the talent and the sand.  And, after I finished all my little people, I’d name them!

This next impresses me by the sheer size of the thing…

This one appeals to my fanciful nature. I love the artist’s sense of humor!

This one is impressive in its realistic depiction of the couple.

And, last, but not least, this beautiful sand woman, who I must say resembles ME a bit…NOT! (Hey!  A woman can dream!)

It’s so amazing when people who have talent like this share it with the world.  Kudos to them and stay cool!

I would never presume to call myself a bird watcher because I can’t identify different birds by their technical names, nor do I know their mating or migration habits.  But this summer, maybe because my balcony is directly across from the top of a mulberry tree and the fact that I have a good zoom camera, I’ve been drawn in to observe the life and habits of birds more than I ever have before in my life.  This particular tree seems to be sort of an avian U.N., where all the birds of every type in the neighborhood check in from time to time all during the day.  I like to look at the tree and its surroundings as a sort of microcosm of the bird world, which is replete with needs, drama, excitement and love, thus my new role as bird sociologist.

The birds come to the tree for many reasons, first and foremost, food.  Here is a shot of a beautiful bird with a polka dot cape taking a fast-food break.

Some like to choose a branch and simply meditate.  Here is beautiful little guy who is obviously a loner and has much to ponder.  Please note the subtle colors of his feathers.  It’s amazing to me how really different birds are from one another when you look closely!

Some birds visit the Mulberry tree simply to strut their stuff.  This bird obviously has a Dracula thing going for him, fluffing his tail feathers like a long cape trailing behind him!

Of course, from time to time an outsider sneaks onto the branches to steal food, such as this squirrel in his white jockey shorts!

And last, but not least, some come to the Mulberry tree to fall in love.  For these two, it was love at first sight.  They stayed this way for a good two or three minutes.  Finally, they flew off together to look for a room. 

So, if you always thought that birds were just these mindless creatures flying around, you were wrong.  There’s a lot going on there, much more than I can cover in this simple post.  But, trust me, I’m sure I’ll have more to report later.  Meanwhile, you might just want to give birds a little more respect.  You know what I mean?  Just sayin’.