I am at work, and don't have my pictures here from my vacation to download, but... wanted to post something anyway... :)

We have tropical storm Ernesto coming through right now... Well, not exactly right now as I speak but today.

It is really not as bad they had predicted. Well first they were predicting a hurricane, then a tropical storm, and now it has been downgraded to an inland tropical storm, which baskically means rain and wind. I guess you could call it a bad rain storm.

That is the good thing. Well, I guess. Actually they are predicting 35 mile an hour winds... On some streets in Winter Springs, that wind could get a ticket!

Of course I am like a little kid, and would have liked a hurricane day off from work, like we got snow days off from school. Oh I loved those days... the whole family home, staying in our pajamas, not going anywhere. Guess I have to move back up north for that... huh... Or retire!!!!

Just made reservations for the Hoop-de-Doo Revue at Disney's Fort Wilderness, for next Thursday night. Hope that works out for Carol and Richie. Richie has to work on Friday, so he will get up Friday morning, and get dressed in a suit and tie and go to work from the campground. God, I hope they enjoy themselves.... Camping, even at Fort Wilderness can be miserable experience, if something happens to make it that way. Anyway, the dinner is pretty nice, Loin of pork, veggies, salad and desert, and a show. I hope Richie likes it. Of course he can always have a veggie option. I guess I need to check with Carol on that too.

Well, better go. Have a ton of orders, and will probably be working through my lunch.... Anyway, my break is almost over....

Monday in Philadelphia

Well, Monday we got up and got ready early, 6:00, and went out for breakfast. We found a cafe on Saturday, that was very good. The Midtown III Restaurant. It was open 24 hours, and it was reminiscent of a diner in NY. I thought the waitresses were great, although George had a bit of a problem with the little dark haired one. She was gruff lets say, be she was soft around the edges when you gave her the chance. I think George was half playing when he complained about her. Anyway, their Mediterranean omelet was great, with tomatoes, feta cheese and I think spinach. It was pretty rich, but a great omelet. And I am not an omelet fan.

George walked me to the train station, and I got on a train to Ambler to see my friend Audrey and her significant other (soon to be fiance'), Al. It was about a 30 minute train ride and Al and Audrey were there waiting for me when I got there. That is Audrey and Al in the picture. I met Audrey about 28 years ago. We worked together, and in fact when I moved to Florida, I moved here and lived with Audrey. She also helped me get my job at the phone company.

Audrey lived in Plainview, and I met her at the shoe store I worked in at the time. Import Shoe Fair. It was on 15 W. Marie St. In Hicksville. Audrey was married to Artie. She has two boys with Artie. He passed away last year in November.

She was in touch with friends from school, on the internet, and that is how she ran into Al. One thing lead to another, and they met, and now they are getting married.

First we went to the Post Office, so that Audrey and Al could get their passports. Then we went for a little ride to view the sights of Ambler and vicinity, then we went out to lunch to a neat little place, with the best french fries. Al went to the dentist and Audrey introduced me to her neighbors. Then we just sat and chatted. It was neat. I miss doing that with her.

Anyway, Audrey lives in Levittown NY during the week, and Ambler Pennsylvania on the weekends. Pretty neat.

Kind of like I want to do. Only I want to spend June to September up north, with property, and October to May in Florida. One day......

When I got back to Philly, George met me at the train station, and we went to a Chinese restaurant, vegetarian restaurant had Dim Sun platter, all you could eat. I had the tea... I love the tea... Then we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

Combining Saturday and Sunday in Philly

Ok, so we went to bed Friday night, and woke up Saturday morning to go to the Clerk Craft Conference. Then we went this little vegetarian place in South Philly, known for it's Vegetarian Philly Cheese Steaks. It was called Gourmet to Go/Govinda... It was pretty good. Not in the "best" neighborhood, but they were young and hard workers, and very polite. George loved it, and I have to admit they had a good selection, and if I went back, I wouldn't order the Philly Cheese Steak (I make a pretty mean Philly Cheese Steak with Morning Star Farms steak strips), but they had some other stuff on the menu that looked very good also. The Cheese Steak was good though.

Sunday after the second day of the clerk conference, we met up with George's local and had pizza at Olde City Pizza, down in the historic district. Pizza was OK, and the service was not so hot. Well, let's put it this way, the way George like Pizza, and we ate it again that vacation, we didn't go back there.....

Then we walked around the historic district, and went to the Liberty Bell.

We walked around the Historic District with plans to go back later in the week. We went to Carpeters Hall, the 2nd Bank, a few other places. All with plans of going back later in the week to do a real honest to goodness touristy thing, but it didn't actually work out that way... You may be seeing another entry in my blog about Heidi & George's REAL VACATION Trip to Philadelphia.

Anyway, then we went down Elfreth Alley. This is the oldest residential street in the United States. These houses date between 1728 and 1836, and people still live in them, I mean all but one are private residences! Now keep in mind that the first black and white picture was probably taken in the early 1900's. The color one of course was taken by us... (bet you never would have guessed) you can tell because that is me standing there with my hand on my hip. I am standing "kinda" between the second and third houses in the old picture. You can tell by the different arches over the doorways. The first house must have been knocked down.

Then we ate at a cafe, had desert and coffee, and that is when one of those BIG city pidgeons shit on my head. Everyone was pretty grossed out by it, and I have to admit, it was pretty gross, but George got a we paper towel from the rest room, and wiped it off, and then I just tried to forget about it. It was before we were served, and Hans has pooped on my plenty of times, so no biggie. When we got back to the hotel, I took a shower and washed my hair. None the worse for the ware...

Well that is pretty much all we did that day.

We have pictures!!!

This is the view from our hotel room, on the 26th floor of the Sheraton on Race and 17th Street, in Philadelphia. That building off to the right or the circle (which is called Logans Square... ) is the Philadelphia Museum of Art. That is the building that Rocky ran up the stair to in the first Rocky movie. So when you go there most of the people are just running or walking up the stairs and when they get to the top, stand there, with their arms up in the air (like Rocky did) and then someone takes their picture... It really is a great place to people watch.

Straight ahead in front of Logans Square is the Franklin Institute. off to the right of Logans Square is the Free Library.

The top picture is the same shot at night (bet you couldn't figure that out could you...). Pretty nice shot huh? This is a great camera....

This was a great room. Big room, and on the corner of the building, so it was bigger than the others. The only problem is that there was some sort of HVAC piece of equiptment on the roof, and it made the walls tremble alittle, and there was also a sway that I felt mainly because my sense of balance is off since I had the mild stroke last year. I shouldn't say my sense of balance is off, it is just very sensitive.

One night we come home later than normal, and walked into the room, and there was a crib in the room. I was startled to say the least. My first reaction was to close the door. I am not sure why, my key opened it, but that was my first reaction. What I didn't see was that there was a twin size roll away bed brought in the room also.

We called the front desk and they came and took it out, and brought it to the correct room, which was right next store. How I know is that the baby that ended up in that crib cryed allllllll night long. I mean wailed. You know the kind of crying a baby does when it crys do hard it can't catch it's breath. Well it was like that. I was about to call the front desk and tell them that I thought the baby was left alone in there, because how anybody could have let a baby cry like that, in the same room and not attend to it, had to be either dead, unconciuous or an animal. The little on finally stopped, or passed out was more the case, which is what I did also.

Well, better go.. I am in the middle of ironing and Tony and Carol are coming over so I can help them cut some fabric for drapes for Tony's house.

Honestly, I don't know anything about cutting fabric for drapes. I think she just wants to bring Tony over here. I mean she brought him over when the house was under construction and took him on a tour....

Today I cut back the Grapefruit trees and the Gardenia bush, and also planted some Cone Flower/Daiseys. They are perenials, and I planted the seeds during a rain shower. I think it should be alright, even if it is August, but it is almost September, and this is Florida. I'll let you know.

Yes, Yes, I know... no pictures yet... Well, that is because they are still on the laptop.

Today is Thursday, tomorrow is payday. And September will be a busy month. We have Hans' (remember my friend from Germany) sister coming with her little girl, and 2 others on Sunday, September 3rd. I am going to make Chilli, hot dogs, (veggie and meat), cole slaw, cucumber salad, and I am not sure what else. For desert I am making a fruit and custard pie, a chocolate rouladen, and fresh fruit.

Then on the 8th of September, we are going camping with Carol and Richie. I think we will make spaghetti one night and not sure what we will make the rest of the time. Carol and I had started to do a menu for the weekend but it was getting alittle bit confusing. I think I still have the list, I guess I should look it over.

On the 23rd of September, George and I are having about 10 or 11 people over for the afternoon, and I was planning on doing Shish Kabob, and alot of other stuff. I made a list for planning purposes, I really need to figure out what I will need to get.

So, September will be a pretty busy month. I have the first weekend of company pretty well set. Once I get through that I think I will be pretty much ready for the next weekend, and so on from there. I love to entertain like that, but then I get nervous that something isn't going to turn out ok. I don't know why, so far I have been pretty lucky...

Haven't gotten my pictures from Philly off the laptop yet. I promise I will have them soon.

In the mean time it has been brutally hot here in Florida. The weather is just starting to break now, with cooler temperatures at night.

Luckily Wayne (My Pets Friend) was able to water for me while we were gone. This week they have been predicting rain all week. 60% chance, and that is usually a sure thing, but it is a 60% chance if you happen to be in the "spot" that it is supposed to rain, and if anyone knows Florida rain, that could mean across the street, but not where you are standing.

Well today, they raised it to 70%, with more wide spread coverage. Keep your fingers crossed. I love the rain. It just cleans everything. Hard to explain.

I am glad to be home... not glad to be at work.. but glad to be home. Work is a real chore for me lately. Not sure what it is. Just a chore, bordering on burden, but don't think I will get there because that paycheck usually brings me back to reality real quick.

I just think about the things I would rather be doing, like, working on my bench that I am refinishing, the slip covers I keep thinking about, I have all the supplies to get them done, but not the energy when I get home, the dusting, the bathrooms, the vacuuming, the bird cage or the fish tank. All things that are tremendously more productive than what I do here. Except for the paycheck, which is the end result of all those seeminly unproductive hours I spend at work.

Here I am 48 years old, and I look forward to retirement. How sad is that!!!???!!!

Well better go, have to get back to the unproductive stuff that pays the bills. Break is 1 minute away from being up....

Back from Philadelphia!!!

We had a nice time, I walked my butt off. I mean I walked everywhere. My feet were killing me. I did weigh myself this afternoon, and I gained 3 or 4 pounds, but I think it was in muscle... (yea right!)

Well, we ate pretty fattening breakfasts, and pretty fattening dinners, compared to what we did before, but we didn't over eat. We ate breakfast, then we at dinner. But..., we had dessert every night. It was good though, and it made it a real vacation. Afterall, this is it, until next year for me. Except of course for the weekend we go camping, or the weekend that Mathie and Wesley have their teeth cleaned.

I visited my girl friend, went shopping, sight seeing, etc. I will be posting pictures of my different outings.

It was good to get home though. I missed my kids, and spent most of today, just hanging around with them. George is suffering from a tired stomach. One night we went out for pizza, and he went hog wild. I think he ate 7 pieces of pizza, plus salad. The salad was out of this world. We went with Dave and his wife. It was fun, and I will tell you about it later in the week.

Anyway, that is it for now. Going to play around on the computer, and will be back tomorrow.

Today we leave for Philadelphia... As always when we go away, I am excited up until the day before we leave... then I look at my kids and my house, and I start to feel bad. Especially about the kids... I just love those guys. And they love us... I almost feel like I am letting them down, but, they have Wayne (My Pet's Friend), and he loves them too. And they love him too... and now that everybody loves everybody... I just hate to leave them.

And to add to my angst, is the fact that there is heightened security at the airports, which means heigtened attitudes... In other words, everyone is going to be wound alittle bit toooooo tight today. So part of me just wants to get to Philly and get to the hotel, while the other part of me wants to curl up in my bed with Mathie... I am a real head case.....

So... hopefully Philly is safe, and I will not be intimidated by the local color. I plan on going to see Audrey in Ambler, and then the usual sights and attractions... so I should have lots of pictures when I get back.

Ok everyone, I have added a picture of me... and..... John Kerry... Yup, I met him, shook his hand and everything. Introduced myself to him, the works... I have it on video also.. Let me tell you, if I had Grandchildren they would hear this story many times.

See, we had free tickets to somewhere on Delta. So George said to me do you want to go somewhere like New England or Iowa to see John Kerry while he is campaigning. So you know I jumped at that. See I was a John Kerry supporter since March of 2002, when I saw him at the Florida Democratic State Convention. Then he sent a letter to the Orlando Sentinel in April, ripping (very eloquently I might add) Kathleen Parker a new one (if you know what I mean.....), and I thought, this guy knows what is going on. He knows what is happening all over. So that was the beginning.

Well then George said, you can't just sit back and listen to him speak, or watch him, you have to go up to him and speak to him.... OH MY GOD!!!!!

But I did. Then his assistant took this picture... George was in it also, or is in it, but he cropped this one for me for another reason, and it has come in very handy since then.

Anyway, when he lost the election (and what a damn shame that was....) I was devastated for about 3 days. But, I still have his bumper sticker on my car, because I am counting on him running again. A far better reason then why all those yahoo's have "W" stickers on their car. We know he ain't running again... thank god!

Well, just wanted to post something with the addition of the picture...

Ok. gotta go, have tons to do...

YEA!!!!!!!

Josh Blue won Last Comic Standing..... Who cool is that!!!!!????!!! Honestly, I would have been shocked if he didn't win... and I think the audience would have stormed the stage. I think I will have to look for him and see if he gets any better well know than the others that have won...

Anyway... just thought I would bring that up... Now, that is done, I won't bother anyone now, but I will be back in a few months to talk about the Presidential election coming up in 2008. We have to start thining about that now...

Leaving for Philly tomorrow, and will be back with some pretty neat pictures, I hope... I will probaby check in periodically during the week.

See ya later...

Pest Problem....

This is my Gardenia. I had some pretty flowers on here this year.... but then I got aphids. I have plants with other problems also...

Above the Gardenia you will see my Grapefruit tree. It has leaf miners.... I love Gardenias, and I love my grapefruit tree, because the Gardenia has beautiful flowers and the grapefruit tree is the off spring of the tree I grew from a seed in NY, and Daddy brought down to me when I bought the house in Winter Springs.... That was my baby, and I recently discovered that the girl who bought my house, cut down my tree. This tree is almost my legacy... I will not have any children, and now it is gone, so all I have left are these 3 babies that I again grew from a seed from the fruit of the tree that I grew from a seed. I have to save these... period end of subject.

I tried cutting the affected leaves out, but they grew more leaves and the leaf miners went after them. I got my Rodale's Organic Gardening book out, and it said that they come from the dirt. They also said that a Nicotine tea will kill them, and the aphids, so with the assistance of my girl friend who smokes, by her donation of a pack of cigarettes, I made 1/2 gallon of Nicotine tea this weekend. The way I did this was to soak 1/2 cup of tobacco in 1/2 gallon of water, with 1/4 tsp of pure soap. I soaked the tobacco in the water, in the hot Florida sun for a few hours, then I strained it through cheese cloth, and sprayed it on the leaves, and then even put some of the tea on the dirt the plants are growing in.

So, this is what they look like now, in a few days I will cut them back, and hope for the best.... I will follow up with some pictures of the demise or the celebration.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.... These Grapefruit trees are very dear to my heart. I kid you not, the parent tree was once a seed on a plate 35 years ago, in Farmingdale NY. My mother was on a grapefruit diet, and I was cleaning the breakfast table off, and saw that one of the seeds starting to germinate, so I carefully assisted it along. Before you knew it, my Dad and I were planting the tree outside in May, and bringing it in, in November. We did that for about 10 years, and when I moved to Florida in 1985, and bought my first house in 1987, the first trip my Mom and Dad made down by automobile, was with my Dads van, and in the back was my grapefruit tree. Boy I had a great Dad....

Then when we had a freeze in 1988 or 1989, when my Dad was here, and he wrapped the tree in a heavy drop cloth, and put a 75 watt flood at the base to keep it warm. Then he woke up all that night in regular intervals to check on the tree. The following January, I had my first buds, and the following December, I had my first fruit. And it was good fruit....

Well anyway.... do what ever it is you do... keep your fingers crossed, say a prayer, wish real hard... what ever works... and then check back.... :)

Hey!!! Has anyone been watching Last Comic Standing this year.... We have, and we are voting for and pulling for Josh Blue..... He is very funny, and I think he deserves to win. George likes the other guy with curly hair too, but I am 100% behind Josh. If anybody reads this blog, tell me what you think.

I think the guy is just a funny, sincere guy. Actually I think the guy that comes up 2nd does pretty well career wise.. I mean, I don't follow the stand up comic circuit, but I see more of Ant than I do the other guy. (See what I mean!?!)

Anyway, everyone should vote for Josh, because Josh is the best, and deserves to win. So anyone who is reading this...(hello....!! anybody out there!!!???!!) should do me a favor and vote for Josh. Please... my political candidates never win... (yet), my Dancing with the Stars candidate didn't win.... , not even my Apprentice Candidate from the season before last won.... I just want Josh to win. Then we can talk about the Presidential election in 2008.

I wanted to add a blurb on the internet about our pet sitter. His name is Wayne Tracey, and his business is called My Pet's Friend. He covers an area in central Florida including Oviedo, Winter Springs, Casselberry and parts of Winter Park.

This guy is great and anyone who is wondering if they should use his pet sitting service, let me tell you, don't give it a second thought.... Ask for references, you will find one from me!!!

I have recommended him to numerous people, and they have all come to me a later dates and thanked me.

Let me tell you why he is good. Wayne does this because he loves animals.... He isn't just the owner of the company... he is the company.... When you hire My Pet's Friend... you get Wayne. I have been using him for over 5 years, and he has never let me down. He doesn't have a crew of pet sitters. He is not the "Molly Maids" of pet sitters.

Our dogs and cats know and love Wayne. They know when we are gone, Wayne is coming to walk them, and talk to them, and spend time with them. It isn't just a dog walker, it is their friend....

He worries about your animals the way you do. I have since found that there are alot of options out there... but... I believe that they would be hard pressed to be as good as Wayne.

This is Hans... He was the first addition to my family when I moved to Florida. He was born in April of 1986, so that makes him over 20 years old.

He is very smart, verrrry handsome, and all business. Most birds like toys and gadget in their cage, but not Hans.

He loves potatoes, especially mashed. He loves Cream of Wheat cereal, and he like good rye bread.

He has been all over, because I used to take him with me where ever I went. He has flown to NY numerous times. He and I grounded a Piedmont Airways plane out of Baltimore once... and we won... with the support of the rest of the passengers.

He loves dish towels, and he will whistle with you if you are patient with him.

When my Dad had his last stroke 2 years ago, we had to rush to NC, and we didn't go through the normal preparations before leaving, so he obviously knew something was wrong. After 3 days, he decided to go on a hunger strike. Luckily our Pet Sitter, Wayne Tracey (My Pet's Best Friend) , the best pet sitter in Central Florida, recognized something was wrong, and rushed him to the hospital. They tube fed him twice, to get him eatting, and the spent the rest of the 2 weeks at the front desk greeting patients.

He comes in the bedroom with us everynight. Has done that since the day I brought him home over 20 years ago. If you leave him in the bedroom in the morning when you get up, and start your day, he will yell until you come back to get him.

He and Putzen are very good friends, and he is a very important part of our family.

This is Mathie (dog) and Elke.... Mathie is almost 11 1/2. She thinks she is every critters Mom. She loved all the critter, (except those that I have had of the rodent persuasion) she adored Hanah and Henry, and she is bound and determined to "straighten" Wesley out of his bad habits. And she rules with an iron paw...

She is a terrier mix, but I think she has a little Bischon Freise in her. Her hair has gotten dried out lately. Not sure if it is the senior food we moved her to, or just age. I am thinking of putting her on some supplements for her coat. She has a beautiful coat when it looks good. And she has a beautiful face....

I found Mathie on the side of the road in Kissimmee. I was walking Gretchen, and Mathie stuck her head out from under a platform (over a ditch) that was used to hold someone's garbage can on garbage day. She only weighed .80 pounds, and we bonded with in seconds. Not minutes, but seconds. I took her to the vet and he predicted that she would weigh only 10 pounds. By the next visit, 1 week later, her weight was 4 pounds, so we knew that the vet was wrong.

Mathie got along with everybody, highly respected Gretchen, and had a run in with Putzen, which ended up in Mathieu nearly having a scratched cornea. Now Mathieu also has a healthy respect for Cats, but that does not mean she takes any guff.

Mathie and Wesley have their spats daily, yes daily. Mathie has her rules, for instance, if Wesley and Mathie are in the bedroom together, Wesley belongs under the bed. That is where she told him he belonged the first night he came to live with us, and the rule hasn't changed. She has eased up on some of the rules for Wesley (there were many), but that one she is not wavering. Although, during the night, he is allowed to come out and sleep on one of the dog beds. In fact... one night I caught them both sleeping on the big dog bed. I don't know if she knows we saw her.

Elke, it a little over 5 years old. My girlfriend Linda called me on a rainy, coolish morning to tell me she found another cat at her at her office. Just 3 or 4 days before she found 2 other little kittens, and we think that they were orphaned in the office park she works in. Either something happened to their Mom, or someone dropped them off there. Most people think they were feral kittens, so I am thinking something happened to the Mom. Well anyway, Linda called me at work, and I ran to her office with formula, and an appointment with the vet in 1 hour. The vet took one look at her and she started spitting and hissing, and he just closed the box she was in and said, you have a feral cat here. So I said, so what should I do? He said that she was probably fine. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and tried to examine her, but even at her size which was tiny, she could have put a real hurtin' on someone. He estimated her at the most 4 weeks old. He said that he could really tell me anything right there, but that if I brought her home and she got warm warmed up, she would probably be a little bit friendlier. I asked her about food and he said she could probably eat wet cat food, but if I wanted to bottle feed her I could. I asked him if she should be able to pee and poop on her own, and he said "probably, but he couldn't tell for sure. Bring her back in a week and he will give her a good exam and her early shots."

Well, I brought her home, you know I bottle fed her...why would I want to pass up that opportunity, and introduced her to wet food about 3 or 4 days later. Which, she would only eat off my finger to start. I stimulated her to pee, and poop. She pee'd like a champ, but the pooping was another story. I started to get concerned after she was eating wet food for a day or two, and she wasn't have any bowel movements. But when she did it was cause for celebration!!! We danced around the house, it was a red letter day.

When it came time to wean her from the bottle, I did it by watering down the formula a little more after each feeding. By the time the ratio was one to three, she was so mad, she pulled the nipple out of the bottle and yelled. That was the last bottle she would take. We the supplemented her wet food with dry food.

And... Elke loves, I mean loves Mathie. She is always rubbing up against Mathie, laying down by her, flicking her tail in Mathie's face. It is amazing. In fact, she dislikes cats. She tolerates Putzen, probably because she was there first, and she is old, but she hated Eric, our little boy that I will introduce you to later. We lost Eric last November.

So, that is Elke and Mathie.

*********!!!NEWS FLASH!!!*******

It is a good day!!! Walmart is closing all it's stores in Germany..... Yes Ladies and Gentleman, the German people are not sell outs to cheap wages, cheap prices, and poor merchandise.....

You you wonder why I am more proud of my German heritage than my American citizenship....?

This is exactly why. I am not a sell out...period end of subject...! I have principles and that is obviously from my German background and not my capitalist American environment.

When the American people start showing a more principled shift in ideology, then my pride in being an American will come back.

******GO GERMANY******

Ok boys and girls, the pictures are coming now.... I had a friend visit from Germany, and he took a bunch of pictures, and is sending them to me, 5 or 6 a day.... As I get them, you will see them...

This is Wesley (you have met him), George ( the person) and Henry. As you have read the a few posts before, Henry passed away last week. He was 10 1/2, and was a great rabbit. This was about 5 days before he passed away. He couldn't move around anymore, except for his head, but he had a great appetite. So, we did for him what made him happy, and that was give him veggies. So that is what George is doing. I think he is feeding him celery there. We had him in a comfy dog bed, and he was partially covered with a sheet. He loved it. His twin sister passed on 1.5 years ago, so he liked being around us and the other animals. I believe he was happy the last few months of his life. His situation was comprimised, but....he made the best of it.

I believe that is what the animals have over us human beings. For the most part, they are pretty content with their surroundings. You give them the basic necessities and they are usually grateful. I try to be more like them in this respect.

Now mind you this isn't a new revelation with me. I have been doing this for a while now. See if you get disatisfied enough, and really want to change things, and do everything in your power to become satisfied, but it just isn't enough, then you only have two choices. Get depressed, or re-examine just what it is that you want. If you are honest with yourself, you will probably learn that you are really doing ok... and honestly, that is pretty good.

Now don't mistake this with complacency. It isn't that at all. Realism, honesty are more the case. I can honestly say I learned that from all the sweet wonderful critters I had in my life. And from my Dad. My Dad taught me to to always try to do better. I am not using the word strive, because I think that is too much. Just always try to do better. Sometimes doing better is realizing when to stop. When the difference between doing better and striving is the difference between being satisfied and being greedy.

Daddy was a pretty terrific guy. I miss him, alot.

Here is our Wesley... Wesley is a hoot!!!

He loooovvvvves to sleep. George calls him a Electrolux with legs. He and Mathies are not all that fond of one another, but they manage. It wasn't easy getting to this point, and Mathie still rules the roost (as any good female would).

And when Wesley decides that he likes you... well, that is it. You may not like that, but too bad.

When he met my Dad for the first time, he immediately fell in love. I remember, my Dad sat down in the kitchen and bent over to untie his shoes, and Wesley jumped up and kissed him.

We have a routine, Wesley and I. Mathie joins in, because Mathie will be left out of nothing I do.

We do inspection time, every afternoon, or everytime I come home. We have the inspection area, the carpet in front of the entertainment unit, the rug under the dining room table, and the hallway upstairs. If he has any "accidents", he doesn't get a good boy yummy. Mathie doesn't either, so she has a vested interest in making sure Wesley doesn't have any accidents. If he is a good boy, and doesn't have any accidents, then we dance and yell and cheer, and they both get a biscuit.

And you know what... It works... Positive Reinforcement.....!!! A very powerful tool.

hey everyone... I am back, and will be back again later with pictures. I have the pictures my friend Hans took of Henry (who passed on last week on Tuesday), and he also sent pictures of Hans (the bird) and Wesley.... All of which will post when I get home.

Man do I have a remaining summer and early fall booked. Still deciding if I should spend the money to go to NY for Labor Day.

See... I did alittle calculating this weekend. And, in order for me to get the Audi A4 next year before the summer, I have to save $600 a month. Now I know that is a tall order, but I think it can be done. Well, I am going to try. I have options, and I will use them if I have to, but I really think that I would like to have a brand new 2007 A4, with a 3 year loan, and payments right around $500. Hence the must save $600.00 a month for the next year.... Could have done it at the last house, but then I would have this really nice car, sitting out, no garage. Everything has trade offs, right.

So, to fly to NY Labor Day, would cost us $400. Then fly to Asheville in October, again around $400.00. Not sure if I should do both of them. Since I really have to go to Asheville, that leaves out Labor Day. I plan on using my Airtran certificates to go up and see my Mother either in October of November.

Well better go... need to make some calls...

Haven't posted in a while, but things are about the same. It is really weird the stages you go through with grief. I guess it is basically different with everyone and the circumstances. Would be something interesting to look into.

Mom called me late Sunday, for my Birthday. Around 9:30 / 9:45 at night. I was writing out bills and just getting over the sticker shock or my American Express bill from the last two months of going to North Carolina. Man I can't keep this up. I am going to have to let her know that, so we don't pull another stunt like we did with the surgery. Her other daughter got a pass on that one. Next time I will not be as gullible.

Got my "organization kit" for the Alzheimers walk in October. I have to admit, if it weren't for my cousin, and a few of my friends, I would be at ground zero. I have to get serious about this and innovative.

We (George and I) want to spend a weekend in NY. Thinking of Labor Day weekend. I have to get myself caught up at work, and then I can look at what time I have or don't have, and what airfares are. I really don't want to spend any extra money from now till the end of the year. If I could save a couple of thousand dollars, and use it as a down payment on a new car, that would be perfect. I think one more new car in my life would be pretty fair. If I make it a good one, maybe the only car I have to buy.

Went to see Pirates of the Caribbean last weekend. It was tough to follow, but it was good. Don't think there are anyother movies out there to see so far. Maybe the fall will bring in some good ones.

Well, I have lost 11 pounds so far. 9 more to go. Fitting in smaller clothes, but still not perfect. I really have to discipline myself to exercise. Went to the Chinese Restaurant for dinner last week, then the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. Sunday morning I made a nice breakfast spread. Potato Pancakes (they were great), bacon and kiebalsi for Hans and Richie, made batter for waffles, but nobody had any. Made my puff pancake, but it didn't turn out right, but it tasted ok. Made Egg beaters for Richie, and 2 soft boiled eggs, that ended up not being soft boiled anyway, bread butter, champagne and orange juice, and alcohol free sangria. The dining room table was packed. Janet said she would try to come over, but she didn't make it, and I asked Richie and Carol to bring Carmella, but they didn't. All in all it was very good. I can't wait to make the potato pancakes again. They were out of this world. I will double the recipe next time.

I didn't count calories on Saturday (since that is my free day) or Sunday (since that was my birthday). Back to the grind stone yesterday. I have a feeling that this coming weigh in is not going to be that good.

Back to work.... let's see if we can't be all caught up by tomorrow at 5:00. That is my goal...!

Back after a few days of just laying around, getting a burst of energy, and then laying around again.

I think I feel OK. It is just hard to say. I have to admit that know that Daddy passed away was a relief to me. He was very sick, and not the Daddy I knew, but he was truly my Daddy deep down inside. I will never stop missing him. The fact that I have been missing him since February 2004, does not make this any easier.

E-mailed my cousin in St. Maarten this afternoon. She replied with a supportive note. I have to admit, everyone has been very kind and supportive through all this...

Have my friend Hans, here from Germany. I feel so bad for him. He forgot his license at home, and couldn't rent a car, so that pretty much means that he is stuck in the house. He was going to ride my bicycle to the mall today. Tomorrow he is leaving for Tampa. He is taking the train over from Winter Park. He is supposed to be home Friday, but it may be Saturday, if he wants to stay longer, since he is leaving here Sunday. I hope he doesn't feel pressured to stay there an extra day, I mentioned it, only because, although we are close to things at our house, it is the everyday mundane stuff, supermarket, dry cleaners, etc. The mall is actually only 2.5 miles away, which is good to know, but it doesn't have anything exciting in it. I hope he didn't get caught in the rain.

George wants to go to NY for Labor Day weekend. I think it would be nice. Of course that is only 2 weeks after we get back from Philly. We will see. I will talk to him about it this weekend.

I will have to get up to see my Mother again. Can't stop going up there. Plus, she still needs me to go up there. Things aren't going to all of a sudden start getting done there now. Also, I am worried about her and how she is going to make ends meet. I won't bring that up rightnow, but will have to address it with her some time.

Well better go...

Hopefully this will get more interesting, although... don't know how that will happen...

Happy Thursday everyone....

Had dinner with a girlfriend last night at Panera's... Kept to my diet, and I was wanting more when I finished, but... I was strong.. In fact, only had one piece of candy when I got home instead of two, because they gave you more than 8 oz. of soup, and the bread was bigger than a small baguet...

Really would like to exercise in some way tonight.. Maybe I will get on the treadmill.

Henry, my rabbit is absolutely amazing... He can't move, except to lift his head. He is propped up on a blanket, and can reach his water, and all he wants to do is eat. He still gets excited when we come out on the screen porch, and we always bring him something. He comes in everynight and we set him up in a dog bead, that has a nice cushion, we cover it with plastic and put a towel down, and cover him up partially. When he messes, the towel we have him covered in gets washed and a new towel is used the next night. Everymorning I bring him out, give him carrots, celery, scraps from our lunch (apple cores, pear cores, tomatoes) and we hand feed him grapes that I cut in half, and he is as happy as he can be... Aren't animals amazing... he finds and accepts he situation, doesn't feel sorry for himself, in fact, he can be pretty stubborn sometimes. I try to treat him good and pamper him as best I can. I really don't think he is in any pain, and he seems to get a tremendous amount of pleasure out of eating, so we do for him what makes him happy.

I am concerned when I leave next week, but that is just me. I don't think George will bring him in every night, but I know he will spoil him with attention and treats. I hope everything goes ok next week while I am gone. No visits to the emergency room, since I know Mathie will be a little out of sorts with me not there.

Other than that, just want to get the week over with. I feel terrible saying that, and bad because I keep harping on this, but the whole situation just stinks.

Got an e-mail from a couple down in West Palm last night. She said she hopes that our family situation has settled down some, and all I think is, it never will. Well I hope I live long enough to see it settle down. And I mean that sincerely.

Well, more in a day or two....

Hallelujah, it is Friday....

Tomorrow is weigh in, and hopefully I did as well as last week.

Also, I have decided that I am going start my weekend by doing what I want to do, and that is to get out in the court yard and work on my plants. Lots of things have to be re-potted. I will need to buy a few pots, not many, and really should first decide how many I need.

I think we will go to Lowe's tomorrow morning, get the things off our list, and also get some pots. All this after weigh in, and breakfast.

Labor day weekend is booked for Fort Wilderness, but we will go to another weekend.

Pledged $90 to WMFE this morning. The thank you gift I chose was the sound track from Prairie Home Companion, The movie. George liked Meryl Streep's singing, and she did most of the singing, so figured it was a good choice. Also, they were giving the CD, Andrea Bocelli- Amore, which sounded. Maybe next time...

On a not so good note, yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that evidence confiscated by police when they raid a house, enter a house to be more specific, with out the announce and wait rule, is admissible in court. Now in and of itself, this doesn't sound so terrible, but if you look at a graph of our rights as citizens in the United States, you would see it slowly on the decline. There is nothing we can do about it. It is extremely depressing. I listen to public radio every morning on my way to work, and every morning I get out of my car more and more disgusted. Things are really bad, and getting worse, and I wish I could say that they will turn around, but honestly, I don't think they are. They are getting worse. The affect on me personally, right now, today... nothing really. My fear is that one day, while I am going about my business, I will turn the virtual corner, and be hit with a big surprise. My dilemma....? What can I do about it. I have been involved in politics. I have been considered the "activist"... I have tried to make a positive change, but I truly believe what ever it is I am working against is much bigger than me, bigger than the Democratic Party, or the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Al Gore, John Kerry, all put together. It it wasn't, we wouldn't be in the situation that we are in. So my little quote at the top, from Martin Luther King, Jr.; well I think it would have worked once, but not anymore. I will still speak out when given the opportunity, but to actively go out and beat myself up, and more accurately, be beat up... I can't do that anymore....

I have to tell you, for the past week or so, since the head of the Taliban in Iraq was killed, all I hear is George Bush on the radio. Oh my god!!!!! I can't stand it anymore.... really, please some one tell me, are there really people out there who think he is a President...? I mean really, do you think he would win again... can there really be people out there who have a Bush bumper sticker on their car yet, and know it is there. I mean really, they have had to have forgotten that it was there, or it just keeps slipping their mind to pull that thing off.

The guy is a joke, really! My Father is suffering from advanced infarct dimensia, and he has more brain cells working than George W. Bush?

The sad thing is, this guy is just plain stupid... period, I mean really stupid... No joke people, the guy is a moron! This is not a progressive ailment he has... he was born this way. He was a giant "L" the day he was born.

Did you hear the latest, he gave a reporter at a press conference a hard time, he actually chastised this guy publicly during the press conference because he had sun glasses on. He went as far as to say to the audience, (which in turn became a TV audience) that it was not a sunny day, and that there was no reason for him to be wearing sun glasses. Turned out the guy has an dengenrative opthamalogic disease, in which he experience pain in natural light, even on over cast days. It is a disease which has caused him to be legally blind. How embarrassing, that the President of the United States is an all time, world class loser. But then again, we all know how he feels about people with disabilities.

When the main vocabulary of the President of the United States is: uhhhhhhh; heh, heh, heh...., you know you are in trouble. But again, how did he get elected. Did people actually vote for him?

I am ashamed of the leadership of my country. I am ashamed to be an American, truly. I eluded to that in a previous post, well, I am not eluding anymore. I am fully ashamed to be an American, because, as an American I am associated with the likes of those that voted for this government.

I guess this blog is getting pretty boring... no pictures, just daily boring life that most people are sick of their own, and have no interest in some one elses... I usually update this at work, so I don't have access to my hard drive with my pictures. In fact most of my pictures are on discs.

George found my blog yesterday... which is fine, don't know how he found it, probably from another blog that I posted to.

The camping trip to Fort Wilderness is in the planning stages, and all we have to do is call to make the reservations. Carol wanted her nephew to make the reservations for us to get a discount, but actually, I would rather do it all myself, and skip the discount. That is just me. For no real reason, other than I hate depending on someone else. It is just easier that way, I know what I have done, and what to expect, and in the long run, it usually works out better that way.

Tonight I am making a spaghetti squash dish. Not sure how it will turn out, but hopefully it is good. Nothing worse than anticipating something all day, preparing it, and then not liking it.

Other than that, nothing is new.

Cleaned mostly yesterday. It is such a big house to clean in one day. George helped me by vacuuming. He did a really thorough job too. Moved furniture, the whole works. I have to get the floors next week. Saturday was a bear, it was so hot, and since we take George's car to run all the errands, and he has no air, it was pretty rough.

Hope my glasses come in today. It is getting pretty hard working with glasses that are 3 and 4 years old. I can manage, but I find myself making mistakes.

I was thinking about planning a camping trip for Labor Day weekend. Another one to Fort Wilderness. I will talk to George about it and see if Carol and Richie are interested.

A tropical storm is supposed to skirt central Florida over the next few days. It rained alittle bit this morning, and hopefully will rain a fair amount more, we sure do need it. I really want to get out to the courtyard and work out there. Everything takes priority over that, and it is really starting to get to me.

Actually now that you mention it... alot is starting to get to me. I am hoping it passes really. But I can't seem to find a nitch to settle into lately.

Hmm, oh well, I guess I will see what happens. I think as always, I feel like everything is just hanging out there. No, goals, no beginnings, no end, just hanging. I think alot has to do with my Dad, and family situation. I can't explain it, but it just isn't right. I am antsy and uneasy, about everything.

I lost 3 pounds. So, 17 more to go.

Yesterday was an unbearably hot day. Without AC in George's car, made the chore of running errands a bear, and actually made us both feel sick by the end of the day.

So this morning will be spent doing house work. Hopefully by 3:00 or 4:00, I will be able to get in the court yard and work in the garden.

Sent Father's Day cards to my Dad and Uncle Richard today. Hope the staff at the nursing home sees the card I sent my Dad. He may not realize he got it, but if they do, maybe they will realize that he is someone's Dad, and he is special.

Other than that, nothing else is new. Electric bill cam in and it was pretty steep. I have turned the thermostat down 1 or 2 degrees, to see if it will help a little. It is kinda cool in here a lot of the time, so maybe we won't feel it comfort wise too much.

Two weeks before I leave for NC, and have to say, I am not looking forward to it. Not sure what I am going to run into, but it probably will not be good, what ever it is. I just don't know how I am going to handle that situation. I am not sure there is a way to handle it.

Been watching the Osprey's on the cell phone tower. I think they have babie up there. I really want to get a pair of binoculars so that I can watch them more closely. I was afraid that there was only one up there, but I have seen another one coming and going with food, so I guess there must be babies, and one has to stay by and watch them.

Ok, so that is what I want for my birthday. A pair of good binoculars and a set of paniers for my bicycle. On the record....

Short post today....

Feeling good, I think my diet this week resulted some net "loses", but we will see tomorrow...

Not going to splurge tonight, George agreed, no sense in adding a pound, that we could have potentially lost, especially with weigh-in tomorrow.

Went over on my breakfast, but I think I am under on my lunch.

Not sure what I am doing for dinner...

I am going to try and figure a nice sit down meal for the weekend...

Well, better go...

Oh yea, the fiasco from the SCDEC, Carol, Ed, Tony, et al... well, apparently someone sent an e-mail to one of Carol and Eds potential customers, a candidate with DemsLink, and said some not so nice things. Of course there are no details, but the rumor is that they are checking IP addresses and have retained an attorney...

In my opinion, it is a ruse, and they are just trying to scare some people. Unless this individual lied about their character (and what ever went on the blog, was 100% from what I could tell), there is nothing an attorney can do, and if he takes the case... he will be milking them, and potentially opening this up to the media, and not such good press.

But be that as it may...I am done with them, and it wasn't anyone that I care about, so, let them have their fun...

Recently there was an exchange on another blog, about the Seminole County DEC. I contributed to that blog, periodically, one of my contributions was deleted by the moderator... not sure why, except that I stated some facts that, more than likely did not please some, regardless of whether they were "true" facts or not.

But... alas, the debate became heated, with as would be expected, not agreement or compromise, (I am not sure if the moderator really thought that it was possible) and she took down the blog. With an essay on how she respected and cared for everyone that contributed, naming people who did and didn't. Never passing an opinion, (totally expected... wordy when it suit her purpose, but when faced with direct questions, and inquiries on her opinion, suddenly she became jello), just making excuses. Well, I am not finished.... So here I will put one piece, my piece that no one can delete, or take down.

The leadership of the Seminole DEC is a smoke and mirrors show. A giant illusion. They don't have any standing in the state, in reference to DEC's and certainly don't have any real standing in the county. Honestly, do they think that Palm Beach County DEC looks up to Seminole DEC? Give me a break, you are not measured on your website, your Power Point presentations, the facility you have your meetings in, or how attractive (? that one I don't get at allllllll!) your chair is (supposedly, personally I don't see it, now bring on the jealousy remarks...)

In reality, the DEC is measured by the members. I have to say in our height, which was right around the summer of 2002, we were big. Bob Poe was the chair. He wasn't the greatest, and eventually stepped down, but it really had no bearing on the DEC. We didn't have a website, we met in the Seminole County Library, where we were thrown out promptly at 8:45. We had a few speakers, no Power Point. But we had sincere, active and excited members. Amazingly Bob didn't treat anyone different. In fact he was indifferent to the members. He didn't surround himself with fans.... most of the people involved were the original die hards that were around before the 2000 election.

The difference was the energy was created by the membership. Well, he stepped down, and I have to say, the reason or reasons were unjustified. He happened to be the State Chair at the same time, and his stepping down from that position, probably made more sense, but that is another story....

Then came Vic. He was a good guy. Tried hard, got involved in the right things, but unfortunately after losing the Governors election in 2002, people were just tired. Along comes the presidential election in 2004. I am not sure what happened there. Other than, egos. And not those of the chair or board, but of the volunteers. We brought in alot of new people. Not alot of members, but alot of people. But, they didn't have experience, and they didn't want to listen, and everyone wanted to be a leader. I happened as it was to back away at that time. I had illness in my family, and was traveling to NC through that summer, in addition to dealing with my own health issues and concerns. I am not sure where the breakdown came in, but it did, and when it was time for a new election, Vic was voted out.

Well, Carol and Ed (they are a team, Carol is the official chair, but Ed has way too much input, and output, from his mouth that is....) eventually became the head of the DEC. Initially they were new, young, had big ideas, and wanted to bring technology into the DEC. However what they did in the process is replace the passion, and energy of the members with that technology.... Well, say what you want, when was the last time you got passionate over a Power Point production. And, I am sorry but Carols personality quotient is down in the negatives. She may be bright, she may be technologically savvy, but in the passion department.... no way. She sapped the energy out, as she become more recognized. She became closed to outside ideas. She micro-managed every single angle of the DEC. She stopped letting club presidents speak, she was destroying the grass roots aspect of the DEC. Then Ed started with his behind your back comments. He started talking about people, passing rumors, building alliances. Clicks started forming, and it was fast becoming you against them.

Well needless to say, about 7 months ago, Ed and Carol took an oppurtunity to take their click or alliance, and turn them against George and I... I actually was not part of the prey, but, I made myself such, because what you do to George, you do to me....

To make a long story short, when he realized they were not happy with him, he offered to resign, of course the two of them were shocked by the mention of this, and told him that was not necessary, however, with in 4 weeks, he received an e-mail telling him that he must want to resign, so they will accecpt his resignation.

Now some background.... The Longwood election was first week in November. Election day I had an opthamologist appointment, to check my vision after the stroke. I was told that my vision was affected by the stroke, and that it might pass, but I was also told that I was developing Glaucoma. So, that night we decided not to go to the "victory" party. I was not in a festive mood, and I also did not want to be around the likes of Carol and Ed. George complied, and we opted to stay home. The results came in, and the DEC backed candidates did not win. At about 9:30, George got a call from Carol. She told him that they were having a wrap up meeting the following night at Shari's house. It was at 7:30. We agreed to go. I told him when he hung up the phone that this was an oppurtunity to throw him under the bus, and he needed to be aware of that. Also, that when the slaughter started, I was getting up and leaving. It didn't matter if I had to walk home, I was not going to sit there and listen to them.

The next day, I left work early for a doctor and dentists appointment. When I got home, Eric, our cat was ill. He had experienced and episode of a bleeding disorder in the past, and had almost died. The vets office was closed, so I called George, and told him our only option, after calling various vets offices, was to take him to the emergency clinic after my dentists appointment. When he got home he agreed, and that was the plan. On my way home from the dentist I called Shari to tell her we might not be able to make it to the meeting, because Eric was ill. She actually chuckled on the phone. I am serious, she laughed. She apparently found it humerous that we would not want to show up for the meeting... (the meeting they were going to gather people around to have and "intervention" with George, and apparently set him straight.) I told her that if he was ok, and we felt comfertable leaving him home after the visit to the emergency clinic, we would come. She chuckled again and said, the meeting is at 7:30, you should be able to make it. I told her I knew, and I we could make it we would. Eric died that night, he bled to death internally. Needless to say we didn't go to the meeting.

Oh but the meeting went on. 45 minutes of the meeting was dedicated to slaming and slandering George. Mostly by Ed. The way we know, Richie Chapetto was there, and he said at one point that he was not going to sit there for another minute and listen to this, especially if George was not there to defend himself. In fact, it was Ed Burns, who was just blown away by the fact that it would take two people to take a cat to the vet. Shari, must have really put her spin on the whole event. And Ed, finished it. I believe Richie said to them at one point, you better hope that cat doesn't die. Well, Eric did. I still get very upset when I think about it.

About 3 days letter, Carol Cox sent George a rather nasty e-mail, stating that she was willing to accept his resignation, based on the fact that he doesn't show up for meetings, chooses to "insult" people (?) among other things.... Then come to find out that members of the board were telling people that George resigned because he didn't get his way.

Sounds like alot of nonsense doesn't it. Sounds like alot of petty individuals. Well you are right, they are, each and every one of them. And that is why Goerge and I don't care to be around any of them. Not Shari, Ed, Carol, or any that were involved at the time. Also, then come to find out that Mr. Hot Head Ed Burns starts telling members that George was fooling around with someone behind my back while I was sick.

So Martie Anderson can say what ever she wants on her blog. She can think the sun set and rises in Carol and Ed eyes. She can tell me how she admires George and I, but you know what... it doesn't matter. She chose sides. She didn't care about the kind of people they are. She didn't care how they can hurt someone so deeply, and she expects everyone to just "get along".

Not with the like of them... I will continue to tell people what they are like.

This is just my story. There are others that have affected others, but they can start their own blog and post them. I don't have the time, nor do I want to spend another minute on them.

Suffice it to say, they are not good people. Plain and simple. I don't respect them, I don't wish them well, and I really wish they would go away.....

I heard a piece on NPR this morning by Robert Reich.... It was very good, so I turned it up..loud. See, I was at work, and it was before 8:00, so, it was before regular work hours, and nobody could say anything... but there were people here, so I know that people heard it.

He was talking about repealing the estate tax. He gave some very interesting facts. I am no good are repeating this information, my mind is like a sieve and what goes in... although I comprehend it, it then goes right out... (I hate that!) I will see if I can find the clip and post it here...

On another note, I got a call from my girlfriend in Pennsylvania, NY, Orlando. Well, this is a long story. We met in NY, almost 30 years ago. She moved to Florida, then recently moved back to NY and sometimes in Pennsylvania. Any way, in August George and I are going to Philadelphia for a convention. So, she will be in Ambler, Pa., and I will go visit her. I don't want to spend all my time there, I mean in Ambler, but it will be nice to get to see her again. She is a nut, but aren't we all to some degree. She is happy, and if she is happy now, that is good.

I have learned that we have to appreciate the little things that can make us happy. There is so much crap out there, between people, and life events, that when you get a perk, you have to savor it. Especially as you get older. I worry about things now that I am getting older. Like what will happen to George and I when we get older. I mean health wise, and how will be able to take care of one another? I used to think that family was the answer to that... but my recent experiences have proven my theory on that flawed. So, now I have to concentrate on trying to cover the bases.

Oh, on the dieting note. It must be going well, because I am hungry alllllll the time. I can't say I am straving, famished, hungry, but hungry. Maybe it is boredom, and I need to occupy my time with something else other than that piece of candy. I have to admit, I am eatting... not much, but I have been eatting.... My oatmeal days are killers. That is alot of calories, (that I don't enjoy) and then the rest of the day I have to be pretty careful. George wants to make Friday night the fun night. I guess that is ok, except, we have weigh in on Saturday morning.... For example, he wants to have Mexican this Friday night... I am all for it, except this is a small privately owned Mexican Restaurant, so the chances of getting even a hint of the caloric intake will be impossible. But then again, it is impossible in Bennigans also.... Well, I will have to think about this, and try to figure out what it would be. I don't want to say no to our once a week treat, but I also don't want to suffer all week, and then blow it all, for one splurge a week.