Afterwards...after words

Good dreary morning!
awoke early after a long rainy night..
winds gusting, 
creating unfamiliar noises, 
awakened me several times..
finally, could not lay abed any longer..
left sleeping hubby and felines three..
quickly dressed,
punched the coffee maker to on position..
grabbed Nikon to scout the neighborhood..
headed out the door..
no rain..
just hot mugginess..
winds still gusting..
clouds scudding overhead..

dreary grayness..
no visible damage anywhere..
a few palm fronds blown down..
no debris anywhere..
excellent preparations had been accomplished by all residents..
trotted around my friend Lee's house to the pier..

His was the only pier above water!

..all the others were way under water...

finally..headed back to my side of the street..

A lot of wind..gusting..very hot and muggy!

Yes..very windy indeed as shown by this beautiful maple!
am curious as to what fall colors will be showing up later on..

enjoy your day..

as shall I..

very thankful to have been spared..

once again!

♥

Blessings..both large and small

Isaac Who?

Tuesday evening..
Late..
all's quiet..
except the dishwasher..
Sleeping felines at my feet..
Hubby fast asleep, Bubba at his feet..
all calm indoors..
While outdoors..
a Hurricane rages..
well sorta..
the rains are still pouring..
wind is still blowing..

and Isaac made landfall earlier this evening in New Orleans..
seven years to the day of Katrina..
folks paid attention around here this time..
all along the upper Gulf coast..
hurrying and scurrying..
purchasing necessities for survival..
in case of prolonged power outages..
Last evening's photo titled All Ready....

Taken from my neighbor's back yard, with permission of course!

Earlier in the day, while out running errands..

I spied this beauty..

although tattered and torn, to me he was magnificent!..

Finding him was such a rarity for me..

Photographing him was sheer delight!

he was such a tease..

would land..then flit..and land again..

Out of many, only three were deemed worthy..

back to the storm..

there were periods of sunshine and blue skies..

along with others of dark, gray and sideways gusting rain..

Thank God ..we here were spared..

While New Orleans only got a minimal one..

Tonite my prayers are for those who are yet to experience Isaac..

and for those who have already been visited..

Again, Thank you Lord, from whom all blessings flow....

Outdoors Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
White Wednesday
Rednesday

Just another typical August Sunday afternoon

Multi-tasking..
dinner in the crockpot..
beautiful sunshiny day outdoors..

hubby planted in front of something sportsy on the TV..
cats napping after frisky frolics earlier..

me..
computerin'
catching up with everyone..
hither, thither and yon..
been answering texts, calls..doorbell..
thinking about a nap myself..
but wait..
just in..
the latest projection..
of landfall..
for that most unwelcome guest!..
none other than T.S.Isaac..

and there you have it..

you know as much as I do..
enjoy the afternoon....

while you can....

linking to Elaine's Sunny Simple Sundays

well hello there...

my but it's been a long, long time..
posting that is..
but you my dear sweet friends have not been forgotten..
my new home is still in much the same disarray..
not quite utter chaos..
but close..
so to whet your appetite..

here's a bit of what i see each morning...

that's looking out at the back yard..

this is basically an impoundment for runoff ,but there is a fresh water creek which feeds the upper end..

the lower end dumps into Perdido Bay..

a variety of birds frequent the shoreline of marshy reeds and grasses..

and waterlilies and hyacinths are among the grasses..

have not ventured beyond the mown areas due to SNAKES...

but the view is exceptional..

am currently working on Part 2 of the Mermaid's Journey..

only so many hours in a day..

but i promise you..hopefully by weekend , the post will be ready..

Just another rainy day in Paradise..

Oh but when the sun does come out..Sunsets are awesome!

Seeing these Frangipanni reminds me of my merseasisterofmy heart...Thinking of you Shelle...♥
have an awesome weekend..

pray that Issaac turns out to be much needed rain for the parched central areas of our country!

A Mermaid's Journey..the trip from Colorado to Florida..

On Friday August 3,my Oddessy began..
or rather I should say I woke up in the middle of a nightmare..
At 6:30 a.m.Friday, I was awakened by pounding on my front door. (was not in the best of moods as I'd only just laid down at 5a.m.)had been packing most of the nite preparing, for the move..
* altho i'd made repeated calls to the booking company,
I had yet to receive any confirmation from the carrier( Wheaton Van Lines) of my scheduled mover loading time.
*note: get EVERYTHING IN WRITING at the time of scheduling a move!!
the initial estimate from the booking agent was approximately 12,000 pounds..
which would equate to around $8,000.00!
so my entire week had been seriously eliminating poundage to reduce the cost!
my mantra became.. It CAN be replaced..
items which I'd been hauling around for 35 years..
which had either lost the sentimental attachment for me..
or were no longer of use..
quickly found new homes..
Goodwill became my destination of choice for donations..
as did the Jewish School who needed items for their upcoming yard sale..
I also sold heavier items on Craig's List..
Did my own quick "one day only"version of a Moving/Garage sale..
and simply gave away to whomever expressed an interest..
my eliminations resulted in a huge cost/poundage reduction..
$5,250.00 final cost!
Back to the too early knock on the door...
the mover had shown up to begin inventorying/tagging my stuff..
which he did..
*a very nice man,who truly felt sorry for me and my dilema..
his "helpers" showed up at 7a.m. to begin loading..
I am a wild woman early in the morning before coffee..
picture this :there I am in my PJ's.. no coffee..
sleep deprived..
knowing I had yet to get to the bank for my cashiers check..
yes, CLOSING on the sale of my house at 9 a.m.
thank God for sisters!
Di had flown in Wednesday nite to help me..
what a Godsend!
she assisted with all things move related while I  quickly prepared for the closing...
upon arriving, I asked for only two things: COFFEE and a bottle of ice cold water!
quickly signed all papers relieving me of ownership of the house on Magnolia Street....

headed back to the chaos of movers..
at noon..the mover said.."That's it, anything remaining, you take"..
Assessing the mess, we quickly found a U-Haul trailer..
while hooking up the electrical system, a fuse was blown..
which locked my gear shift..
terrified of a MAJOR problem, called hubby, who called a friend to assist me..
in the meantime, we found the problem,replaced the 49cent fuse..and were on our way..
back to the chaos of loading the trailer,the car,and cleaning the house.
At 2a.m. Saturday morning August 4th, we closed the house and pulled away..

The idea of driving for several hours until we found a hotel was okay with us..
However, the idea was a mere pipe dream..
all we found were No Vacancy signs..
the first town was celebrating Native Heritage Days...
the next 6 small towns were all full up with participants in The World Series of Baseball..
for those under the age of 14!!!!

so we kept driving..and driving..
stopping occasionally to walk and stretch our legs..

discovering the high plains of Colorado to be quite cold and windy at nite..even in August!
The photo below was taken at nite!

As we made our way, the sun rose over Cherokee Wells in eastern Colorado..

The landscape became more harsh.. 
more rugged..more extreme..

At one point, we encountered a mile or so of these strange rock formations...limestone? who knows ..but they were strange!

*we tried to imagine early settlers making the trek across this unfriendly landscape..and the determination and stamina required for survival...

The temperature rose into the high  90's..

Wind farms  dotted the horizon..

as did silage crops..

Oil wells resembling huge grasshoppers...
and cattle!
and beautiful Appaloosa Horses..

(courtesy Google)

One tired  little sister..who thankfully, did the driving!

(my vision problems were reason enough for her safety, as well as her experience at towing trailers!)

One very tired Mermaid!

finally..a VACANCY! 

the last available..
in Dumas,Texas..just north of Amarillo..
we took it!

(courtesy Days Inn)
clean, pet friendly,handicapped equiped..
a lovely whirlpool bath awaited us both..
oodles of HOT water....
which we savored!
The felines, released from captivity of their carriers..
quickly explored, ate, watered, did their necessary business..
and snuggled with mommie as we crashed for the afternoon in air-conditioned comfort!

upon arising around 8:30 pm..we found a place for nourishment for our tired bodies..

with ice cream to "die for"!!
Returned to the hotel,crashing again until 5:30 wakeup on Sunday for the easy drive to cousin's home..
in Waxahachee, Texas just south of Dallas...
We both enjoyed free delicious  breakfast before hitting the road...

grabbed coffees to go along with fruit for the trip...
.................................................................to be continued..

live from Florida..it's Mermaid Loui!

Greetings!
yes..
Posting from Pensacola,Florida..
hometown in my native state..
it truly is I..
the Mermaid Loui♥..almost done in by the dratted HUMIDITY!
never have I ever had such a problem acclimating!
moving right along..
I've been remiss..
I won a super nice gift from NuMe soaps..

I could not have been more surprised when opening the box..

Four delicious soaps..

All neatly wrapped and packaged in a wire basket..

Thanks again to Linda @ Coastal Charm for having  the giveaway..
Thanks also to NuMe All Natural Soap..for providing the awesome soaps!!

they truly are awesome.. try it..you'll like it!!

Blue Monday
Mellow Yellow Monday