Tag: travel

Dream a Little Dream

I had an amazingly fun dream last night. In it I was in a weird airport terminal awaiting my flight to a European destination to stay with my sister-in-law Lyn who was living there.
 The flight was delayed and I was just hanging out in the cool restroom–there was a waterfall in there. A young mom with two small kids in tow was crying and when I asked if she needed help she told me she’d misplaced her passport. 

Since I had a lot of time before my flight I helped her search everywhere she’d been. We looked and looked and finally found the passport at a kiosk in the airport. It had fallen behind a rack of designer bags. She thanked me profusely and we went our separate ways. 

I looked at my watch and realized I was going to have to rush to make my flight. So I commandeered an airport transport and went tearing through the airport. I got to my gate just as the plane was pulling away. I was pretty bummed. The next flight wouldn’t leave until midnight. 

But then the the young woman and her two kids approached me. “Come with us,” she said.

The next thing I knew I was in a cushy private jet traveling across the Atlantic. The seat laid all the way back, and I slept like a baby. I guess we made it to Europe. All I know is I woke up in the real world well rested.

Peace, people!

Snow Warning

On Saturday night a light snow fell near Havana, Florida. I looked out the window and told Studly Doright that I saw white flakes fluttering on the breeze, but he was too busy polishing his golf clubs to get up and look for himself. He didn’t see snow; ergo, it did not snow.

When he returned home from playing golf on Sunday afternoon his first words were, “Hey, did you know it snowed here last night?”

I swear, one of these days that man is going to wish he’d paid attention to me!

 

Someone must have given this guy a lift to our neck of the woods.

The best thing about Florida living is that cold snaps are invariably followed by warm, sunny days.

  
And that’s just the way we like it.

Peace, people!
 
  
 

 

Bucket List

In response to the Daily Post’s Daily Prompt

Kick it: What’s the 11th Item on your bucket list?

There’s a hole in my bucket,
Or so I believe,
The older I get
The bigger the peeve.
I cross one item off,
And up crops another,
You’d think by my age
I’d not even bother.
Yet if I were counting
From top to the bottom,
Item eleven would be
Seeing Paris in Autumn.

Peace, people

Anagogglin

My vocabulary was enriched this week by the addition of the word, “anagoggle.”

 

Saint Helen at the historic capitol building in Tallahassee.

Saint Helen and I were exploring the little community of Colquitt, Georgia, and had walked quite a distance from my car. When we realized we were both fairly tired of walking in the heat we decided to begin angling our way back to our starting point. 

“We’ll just have to anagoggle our way back to the car,” Saint Helen said.

“Huh?” I replied in my most articulate manner.

“You know,” she said, demonstrating a zig zag pattern with her hands. “Anagoggle. You’ve never heard of that?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

“Must be a New Mexico thing,” said Saint Helen.

“Indeed.”

By that time we’d anagoggled over to the car and I’d conjugated the verb successfully: I anagoggled yesterday, we went anagogglin, we can anagoggle. 

 

Me before I knew anything about anagogglin.

Peace, people. 
 

Colquitt Silos

Yesterday I posted photos of the murals in downtown Colquitt, Georgia. Those murals pale in comparison to the silo murals in this small Georgia town.

Neither Saint Helen nor I claim to be professional photographers, and our only cameras are on our iPhones. Hopefully, though, our photos will convey at least an idea of the scope and beauty of these larger than life works of art:

   
    
   
Every crop grown in the area surrounding Colquitt is depicted on the silos.

We stopped in at the Colquitt Chamber of Commerce before heading downtown, and the women there were full of lively conversation and helpful information. In a future post I’ll share the town’s Cotton Hall Theatre schedule. I’m hoping that Studly Doright and I can attend one of their Swamp Gravy performances in the near future.

Peace, people!

Colquitt, GA

Saint Helen and I visited the quaint community of Colquitt, Georgia, today. We had a scrumptious lunch at the Tarrer Inn, and then wandered around the scenic town square. 

At one shop we purchased some lotion that’s purported to help alleviate the pain of arthritis. After one use Saint Helen was pleased to report that she had no pain in her hands. Of course she then had to sheepishly confess that she hadn’t actually had any pain in her hands to begin with. See why I adore her?

Colquitt is known for its murals, and for good reason.

 

Saint Helen

   

  

 Each corner building has its own mural depicting periods from the town’s history. 

Once Saint Helen shares her photos of the town’s beautifully painted silos with me I’ll post them, as well. Of course, if her hands are giving her trouble she might not be able to hit SEND on her iPhone.

Peace, people!

Flight of the Flip Flips

Studly Doright and I just returned from a trip to Gruene, Texas, for a reunion of the Floydada High School class of 1975. 

Always on the lookout for bloggable material, I had the marvelous idea of posting photos of myself on a variety of stops en route to Texas from Tallahassee. 

I started out strongly:

Milton, FL rest stop
  
 

Unfortunately, I quickly forgot all about the idea after the second stop. I might’ve been sidetracked by the quotes on the booths. 

TA Truck Stop, Grand Bay, Alabama
   

 

Notice I was incredibly proud of my toenails. They’d been painted green to commemmorate Floydada’s team colors. 

Due to heavy rains and cooler temperatures in Gruene, Texas, not a single person got to see my toes at the event. Their loss, right?

The reunion was incredible, though, even without my toes on display.

40 Years of Looking Good

Peace, people.

What Keeps Us Going?

  

Caveat: This is a narcissistic post from a narcissistic person (me). Read at your own risk.

My life lately has felt like a bad roller coaster. No highs, just a series of gut clenching drops. It’s as if someone out there is wondering just how low I can fall.
I won’t go into details, those would be boring, but I’ve accepted the idea that many of the lows can be attributed directly to my own behaviors. Sometimes I’m not a very nice person. 

There is a big hole in my character. I’m needy and self-centered, and I crave reassurance. When I’m happy, the whole world could be going down the toilet, and it just wouldn’t matter. When I’m not happy, ain’t nobody gonna be happy. (Forgive the grammar; I was making a point.)

  
What makes me happiest is having an event or activity I can look forward to–say, going to see my kids who live many miles away, or planning a trip to Guatemala, or to an impending class reunion. But we all know those kinds of things can’t happen on a regular basis. 

So how do I keep going and stay happy, on a day to day basis? This blog is one way. I love the feedback and the “likes” and the clicks. They satisfy my need for attention.

Phone calls with my favorite people are another boost to my attitude. FaceTiming with a grandchild can lift my spirits for days. Oddly enough I seldom initiate those calls for fear they’ll be busy and I’ll be intruding.

My relationship with my mother-in-law, Saint Helen, makes me happy, and news that she might be coming for a visit soon has done wonders for my frame of mind. Yay!

I’m not sure what my original point was in writing this except that I began wondering what keeps others going when they sink, or if they sink, into the pit of self-pity. How do you pull yourself up and ignore the greedy little needs that keep you from being happy and productive? 

I’m curious. 

  
Peace, people!

Home Sweet Laundry

My cats were glad to see me when I arrived home Tuesday afternoon after a week on the road. Studly Doright was, too. I could tell by the way he purred when I rubbed between his ears. 

Today has been devoted to laundry. It could’ve been much worse, but Studly took it upon himself to do his own. I did a happy double take when he told me that he’d successfully pushed the appropriate buttons on both washer and dryer. He even took the time to learn how to properly use the Tide pods that I’m so fond of. 

Studly has always claimed he didn’t know how to do the laundry. Now, this is the man who taught me the difference between a two-stroke engine and a four-stroke. He’s the same one who made sure I knew how to check my own oil and to change a tire. And yet somehow laundry mystified him until this past week. 

Well played Studly. Well played.

Peace, people!

  
He’s really good with the grandbabies, too. No instructions necessary.

Peace, people!

Billionaire

In response to the Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: “You’re a Winner! What would you do if you won a billion dollars in the lottery?”

I’ve traveled a few miles,
been places I thought I’d
never see with my own two
eyes:
Jamaica,
Scotland,
Guatemala

I’ve more destinations on
my list, sights I need to
experience, sounds I must
hear:
Italy,
Sweden,
Germany and on and on and on.

I’ve won a billion dollars
and the first thing I’d do
is pack my bags and travel,
adieu.