Friday, April 27, 2012
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
It hasn't been disturbed for about a week and I hope it remains there.
This is in the center of the web...
Here's a somewhat fuzzy close-up...
Is it my imagination, or does it look like a smiley face on the back of the spider?
It's called a Spiny orb-weaver, Gasteracantha cancriformis
I'll keep you updated on the happy little spider!
UPDATE: I just got home from the Garden Show and discovered that someone has destroyed the spider web. I'm sad.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Annual Stare At Manatees Day!
293!!!
Manatees spend most of their time eating plants and huddling together for warmth.
Hundreds of people stand around and watch and wonder.
I love seeing cars in the parking lot from Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa. It's such a rare Florida experience.
The Florida subspecies can live to be 60 years old. They have one baby at a time, are pregnant for 12 months and baby stays with Mama for 12-18 months.
Here is proof that we don't spend the ENTIRE winter in flip-flops. Sorority Girl enjoys pulling on the boots every now and then.
Oh look. A loner!
The local ABC news was there filming and asked us if we could be interviewed. Mr Sunshine was shown on the 5pm newscast. Under his name it said "Tourist". They were fooled by the New England Patriots sweatshirt!
They asked us about seeing so many Manatees. They were just downgraded from Endangered to Threatened Species. Their biggest threat is from speeding motorboats. Without the protection of the Endangered listing their number could drop as much as 50% in the next 45-50 years.
My husband has a lovely car lot/golf course Winter tan. I'm glad they cut me out of the shot. I'm as pale as Frostina The Snow Woman. That's my grey, pasty head in the lower left.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Salmonella And Jelly Sammy
Have you ever sat with a jar of Skippy, a knife and a pile of Hershey Kisses and.....No? Is THAT how I got my fat-ass?
Back in January of 2009, Mom came down with a case of Salmonella that we traced back to the deadly jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter in her kitchen cabinet. She was VERY sick and it took her about a month to get over it. I used to be a microbiology tech so I get a little skittish when the news reports recalls for Salmonella and E.coli
When I heard this week that Skippy was recalling Reduced Fat peanut butter I wasn't too worried about my stash. We buy the full-fat version....HellYeah! But the first thing I did was call Mom to check hers. As soon as I said Salmonella she hobbled to the kitchen and confirmed that she had Skippy Reduced Fat in her closet. Thankfully, none of the expiration dates that are recalled matched the jar in her closet.
Whew! A case of salmonella 6 weeks before her back surgery could have been a disaster.
We can all eat our PBJ's with peace of mind. And my mind can fondly recall my fat ass days of Skippy and Hershey Kisses.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Discovery Lift-Off. Awesome Day!
We sat at the park for about 3 hours with a crowd of about 2,000. We were surrounded by some really nice people. One man we talked to for a really long time was retired Air Force. He was listening to the NASA feed in his earphones and keeping us updated on what was happening. People chatted about where they were from and previous launches.
You hear the noise before you see the Shuttle. This pic was about 10 seconds after lift-off. The crowd cheers and claps!
This is about a minute after take-off.
This was just about the point where the rocket boosters separate from the shuttle and drop into the ocean. I could barely see it with my eyes or my zoom lens, but the Air Force gentleman handed me his super-duper binoculars and told me to watch it up close!
The trail stays for a long time.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Ice Cream Experiment #1

Taste: B-plus
Texture: D
I think my mistake was to use low fat milk. I never buy whole milk and I didn't want to buy it just for this experiment. There are too many little ice crystals and it isn't creamy enough. It tastes pretty good, but could have used a little bit more vanilla.
I think I churned it long enough. I cranked it every 15 minutes for over 2 hours.
I'll still eat it.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
How to ardhboil an egg

Before AND After
Last night I wanted a hardboiled egg on my salad. I don't hardboil eggs often enough to remember the recipe, so I turned to Google. Because Google knows everything.
I typed without looking....how to ardhboil an egg. Google came back with "Sorry lady, we got nothin' "
So I tried again....how to hardboil an egg. This time Google came back with http://howtohardboilanagg.com/ (DO NOT CLICK, THERE IS A DISCLAIMER)
After I hit my head with my palm and said "DUH", I clicked. I expected a paragraph on some egg cooking website. But NO! There is an ENTIRE WEBSITE devoted to how to hardboil an egg. And it's SIX PAGES LONG! Come along with me. Imagine I'm frowning and tilting my head.
Chicken Cartoon on top. Under that is this line..."Hard boiled eggs for your recipes cooked perfectly every time with my simple instructions. Please read our disclaimer before use."
Disclaimer? Yes, an entire page of disclaimer that warned you not to SUE if your computer caught a virus from the website (Thanks for that information, dudes. It's too late now.)
Tips and Advice: A page on how to use old eggs and center the yolks.
Page 1: Ready to get started. All about pans and water.
Page 2: How to cook the eggs.
Page 3: How to cool the eggs.
Page 4: How to crack and peel the eggs.
Page 5: The previously mentioned disclaimer.
This is my Cliffnotes version: Put eggs in pan of cold water. Bring water to a boil.This takes 6 minutes. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! I did because my daughter says I'm a BAMF and I had to go to the bathroom. Move pan off heat. WEAR OVEN GLOVES! Put eggs in bowl of water and ice. Set timer for 30 minutes. Crack and peel the eggs.
See? 1 paragraph. The eggs? Way overcooked with very gummy yolks.
I'm going to read over that disclaimer again to see if I can sue.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Fun With Anatomy and Physiology
Because I'm still living in The Land Of The Uninsured.
Today's appointment was interesting. Before I went, I showered in Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief Eucalyptus/Spearmint Body Wash and Foam Bath. My normal blood pressure of 130/78 was 110/70. wHoo-Hoo!!
Remember when I broke my toe? It turns out I DIDN'T break my toe. Better than that. I completely ripped the cartilage out of the 5th Metatarsal/Phalangeal Joint. In layman's terms...The toe bone is no longer connected to the foot bone. That's why it kind of flops out to the side when I wiggle my toes. This little piggy is now marching to the beat of a different drummer.
Remember when I slashed my finger open on the shattered jar? And I didn't get stitches because I was residing in Land Of The Uninsured? She looked at it today and said "Ohhhhh, that should have had stitches" When I told her the Urgent Care Center wanted about $600 for stitches she said "And they didn't stitch it because you didn't have $600?....THAT'S SO WRONG!!!" Actually, it healed really well. It just looks like hell.
Then she looked at all the dry, cracked skin on my fingers and said "Ohhhhh, you picked up a FUNGUS INFECTION at the nail salon". (okay to scroll down, there are no hideous medical textbook photos)
%$#@!!! *&%$!! Grrrrrrrrr. @#$%&$!!!!!
I've been going there for 2 years and this is the first time that happens.
Good thing the medication for that is a $4 Special at WMart.
Come back again at the end of May after my next appointment with Dr Cool.
We'll be discussing whether my GIANT GOITER is responding to treatment and if I've made any progress on the LOSE MY FAT ASS project.