"¡Hola, Señors, Señoras, y Señoritas! ¡Bienvenido!" said the colorfully dressed instructor perched on top of a very tall stool.  Welcome, One and All, to El Studio de Salsa, Samba, So Forth and So On." The snail spoke clearly, boldly, and charmingly for all the larger animals to hear. "Me llamo Stanley, the Salsa King.  In six weeks time, you all will be dancing the salsa, samba, rumba, cha cha cha, and merengue at Thomas' and Winnie's wedding reception." Lemon meringue pie?" Guy perked up, bringing Charlie the Camel out of his reverie to nearly stumble over the alligator. "Dude!" Edwina the Egret sighed while Agathe the Aardvark rolled her eyes. The other animals giggled and snickered. "You are all nervous, no?" asked Stanley the Snail. "Yes!" his students said in unison. "Good, good. Let us channel that nervousness. I want you all to close your eyes, listen to this Eddie Palmieri song, and simp

Molly the Cat, our darling girl, looked to be considering a potential hidey hole. With the glare of the sun I wouldn't have seen her if she hadn't moved. It was a small let-me-get-cozy-in-here movement. Click.  She's such a sweet girl, our Molly the Cat.   

Quack, quack. Quack. Quack.  That's just one of our ducks. Four or five more ducks are hanging around the yard, each in their own little pen.  Quack. Quack.   

I wanted five children. It didn't matter if they were all girls, all boys, or some kind of combination. I like to think that's happening in a parallel universe. I wonder what their names are. Even today, I'll come across a name that I think is a nice candidate for one of my would've been kids. Maeve, Emmie, Sophia, Emerson, Benjamin James. . . . I like strong, happy names. So, here I am, seven months shy of receiving Medicare, childless. Every time I thought I was pregnant, several days later, hello menses. I had an irregular cycle, so I tried fertility drugs as well as acupuncture to help get my reproductive system going. The acupuncture was a trip. When all the needles were inserted, I instantly felt like my spirit sprung out of my body and tap danced on the ceiling. In the early 1990s, during the first week of vacation in Washington, I took a home pregnancy test. Yes, by golly! The First Husband and I went immediately into let's-take-care-of-me-and-the-fet

The Husband and I went to our first true senior citizen thing this morning—an event specifically catered to old folks. It was a senior citizen brunch hosted by our local hospital's volunteer group.  We wouldn't have known about it, nor gone, if it weren't for our friends, the Mister & Missus H, for which, I believe, this was also their first exclusive senior citizen event. For two bucks (you heard right), we got coffee, orange juice and whatever we wanted at the buffet table, which included scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, French toast, steamed veggies, chicken and artichoke in gravy (think biscuit and white gravy without the biscuit), cottage cheese, peaches, and Mandarin oranges. We ahhhh'd when the gals running the show announced that the hospital had also sent over an extra treat of coffee cake for us.  Two bucks a person! Probably the last time we could buy a hearty breakfast for that amount was in the 1970s. These days, it's about $15 per pe

"So don't you give up now, ooh, ooh So easy to find Just look to your soul And open your mind Crystal blue persuasion, mmm, mmm" ~ Eddie Morley Gray, Mike Vale, and Tommy James I saw my first rainbow in a cloud last week.  The Husband gave me a scientific explanation for it. Something about ice crystals in the air. From my reading on the Internet, generally in terms of spiritually, a rainbow in a cloud symbolizes hope, promise, serenity, and peace among other positive ideas. I like that. It got me humming "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James & the Shondells.  While I was taking photos, a bird flew across the sky. I clicked but I was sure I got nothing more than his tail. So call me happily surprised when I found this among my day's clickety-click captures. I'm hanging out at Skywatch Friday . Come join me by clicking here . Thanks, Skywatch Friday hosts!

My window of opportunity to not be a procrastinator is about two hours, which is between getting out of bed and the sound of the Husband grinding coffee beans for breakfast. I like to use that time for working in the yard, front and/or back. This morning, for instance, I began with watering the volunteer vegetables—two zucchini plants, one bean plant, four or five tomato plants, and another four or plants that have yet to show themselves as really being tomatoes.  That done, Molly the Cat (the supervisor, as many of you know) and I moseyed to the front yard. Because the Husband will be watering it this afternoon my goal was to sow sunflower seeds here and there, as well as put the geranium plants that we bought last week into the ground. The geraniums took my attention first. Just in time, too. Their leaves had begun to wither. Before I could plant them, I had to rake the dried leaves and pull out weeds out of their new home. Spent poppies were also removed which meant snapping o

Cheers to Steve Arevalo, Big-hearted Teddy Bear of a community activist! May his spirit soar in joy and peace throughout the Universe! This story is for you, Steve. Agathe the Aardvark stood at the podium, looking out at the enormous room filling up quickly with Rhonda the Raccoon's family,  friends, and colleagues. All the bayside windows and doors were wide open for Rhonda's ocean friends to be part of the memorial. Agathe listened to snippets of conversation among sniffles and loving laughter: "We could always count on sweet  Rhonda." "I hope she bit him deep and hard, I do." "If only she didn't have such a temper." "That evil man deserved what he got. Rescinding environmental regulations, poo!" "The Humans should be thankful Rhonda's last words were for us to stand down and not seek revenge." "Brava, Rhonda!" Agathe turned to the portrait of Rhonda hanging over the stage. She will mis

Oh me, oh my. The sights Molly the Cat and I saw this morning in the front yard. For one, that fly pollinating the daisies. Until a few years ago, I had no idea flies were pollinators, too. Flower flies are what they're called in general. Some of them have torsos that resemble bees or wasps. I wonder how many times we've said, "Look a bee!" and it was really a flower fly. Experts say that flower flies don't sting. Hurrah! These flies also love to eat aphids and scales. Thank you, much. POMPOM POPPY DANCER Most of the pink pompom poppies have shedded their petals. I think the pods are also cool to look at and go wowza! over. While the blooms make me think of the fluffy hats that comedian Phyllis Diller wore, the poppy pods remind me of ancient Greek soldiers in their Corinthian helmets. WILD CELERY STALK I was hoping that the unknown thing growing at the edge of the geranium spread would be bamboo. Nope. The nearly 4-foot plant is a wild celery p

This was my fourth year of participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge . The last time was in 2015. It's always good to take a break from something intense for whatever reason. Back in October, 2017, I challenged myself to do a daily post for at least a year, so taking on the April challenge wasn't going to be a big deal. From my experience with the other three challenges, I knew the following: I wanted to spend time visiting blogs rather than writing posts. My blog was not going to suddenly explode with traffic because of the challenge. It's best to have a theme for focus, ease, and efficiency for me. My posts need to be short and sweet. So, here's what I did for this year's challenge: I recycled the Jane Austen, Action Doll theme that I did for a weekly ABC meme a few years ago. I visited every participant on the Master List, starting backwards from #697. I didn't visit the list daily, but when I did, I checked anywhere from 20 to

Ready. Set. Go. Jump. Molly the Cat soars at least one foot high and about 1.5 feet over the alyssum flowers blocking the path. "Don't close the door, Missus Lady!" says the scurrying Molly. "I'm going in, too." Soon, I'll be pulling or trimming the spent poppies, then Molly can choose to zig to the side rather than hop over the flowers. I'm linking up with All Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by Jesh at Artworks from Jesh St.G . Click here to check out Jesh and her meme. For the participants list, click here . Thanks, Jesh!

That wooden pink and white polka dot thing was one of the arm rests on the Mama's reading chair. When the Mama passed onward into the great beyond two years ago, I moved the chair outdoors. Other than Molly the Cat that chair couldn't support anyone heavier than the Mama. For a year, the chair held an umbrella tree in the front yard. Neither looked happy. So, back in March, I decided to take that chair apart and turn the parts into garden art. Pink was one of the Mama's favorite colors, and she liked polka dots, thus the new look for the arm rests. Curious about the other parts of the chair? Check out my Facebook album The Mama's Reading Chair . You don't need to be a Facebook member, or sign in, to view the album. Today I'm checking out a new meme for me called Pink Saturday , which is hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound . To visit other participants, click here . Thank you, Beverly!

Blue skies smilin' at me Nothin' but blue skies do I see. . . ~Irving Berlin The fog lifted early this morning to give us gorgeous blue skies. The orange roses and pink pompom poppies say "Hullo, hullo!" Hanging out at Skywatch Friday . Come join me by clicking here . Thanks, Skywatch Friday hosts!

It's beginning to get jungly in the back yard. The persimmon trees are popping out leaves, as are the apricot and apple trees.  You can't see the banana plants, but they're also shooting up leaves. When all the trees are full, this part of the yard gets quite shady. Perfect to hang out in when the temperatures soar high. I ought to call this part of the yard the "jungle room" or maybe Room of Deep Shade. What do you think?

"Tall and tan and young and handsome. . ." sang Quinn the Quokka. Quaid the Quoll cleared his throat mighty loudly. The quokka stopped singing and raised a questioning eyebrow at her fellow marsupial. She had to be careful what she said next to the carnivore. "This Honalee Bay Aquarium & Gardens place wants two animal per letter, right? We've got it made, Sheila," said Quaid. "All we gotta do is show up at the auditions. You're the cutest thing in the world. Who wouldn't want you? And who wouldn't want tough quagmire me." Quinn sighed. "One, I would rather be picked for my talent than my cuteness. Two, I have a name. Three, the talent scouts plan on stopping in Central America." "So, Quinn?"the quoll asked, emphasizing the quokka's name. "There's a chance they've already decided on that quirky quetzal bird. I'm sorry, Quaid, but I must be chosen. My mate Winnie's getting married

The orange cat looked down at me from his frozen perch on the neighbor's pergola. "What are you doing up there?" I asked, pulling my camera out of my pants pocket. You never know when a photo opp appears. The orange cat stared at me, seeming to say, "You don't see me here." Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! A blue jay flew from the neighbor's roof into the neighbor's tree. Oh. The cat was what that bird's problem is.  I wondered how long the cat had been up there. Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! "You're not going to get that bird from there," I said. "That's what you think," said the orange cat. "Be gone now." So, I went. Now that the April blogging challenge is over, I'm back to my regular stuff of nothingness. Thanks, Jane Austen, Action Doll, for taking over last month. If you want to read her doings, click here . Today, I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday . Check it out here .  Thank

Yawwwwwwwn. Jane Austen, Action Doll, arched her back, stretching her arms widely. She rolled her head, then shook it a few times. Yawwwwwwwn. "This new job came at the perfect time," said Jane, getting back into bed. "These past 25 weeks have completely tired me out. Once this project is done, I shall return to my writing. An idea is brewing." My theme for this year's challenge is Jane Austen, Action Doll, Seeks a New Career . To check out other A to Z participants, click here . To learn more about the 2018 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge , click here .

Hello Visitors from the Blogging from A to Z April 2018 Challenge. This post is for the weekly All Seasons. You can find my posts for the April Challenge here . Sometimes it's right before I fall asleep that an idea for garden art comes to me. Other times an idea greets me when I open my eyes in the morning. Wait till you hear this! my inner voice says, as it waited patiently for me to be quiet to hear the idea. So, today I share with you my latest two pieces for the garden. Both are items from the 1960s that belonged to the Mama. The metal peacock in the above photo was once in black, brown, and burnt gold (is that a color?), which the Only and Older Brother gifted to the Mama one year. The lamp in the photo below was one of a pair that the Mama and the Daddy bought for our brand new house way back when. Its original color was a cross between yucky bronze and gold. I think it was supposed to be a take off on baroque style. Now, the lamp could be a prop in a carnival.

Jane Austen, Action Doll, sighed. "That Lydia," Jane mumbled. "She never puts the ladder away. If only I could fire her and Wickham. They are horrible workers." "Perhaps I could get myself transferred from this rail yard," Jane thought. My theme for this year's challenge is Jane Austen, Action Doll, Seeks a New Career . To check out other A to Z participants, click here . To learn more about the 2018 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge , click here .

"One of the great advantages of living in this modern age is being able to play St. Nicholas," said Jane Austen, Action Doll. "In my day it would be scandalous for a woman to play a male role in public." Jane looked with much delight at the smiling children around her. So much joy and wonder, she thought. She smiled broadly at the boys and girls. "Ho, Ho, Ho!" My theme for this year's challenge is Jane Austen, Action Doll, Seeks a New Career . To check out other A to Z participants, click here . To learn more about the 2018 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge , click here .