I Am Titan - I am a Hunter

My mama and papa tell me that I am an American Pit Bull Terrier!  I don't know what that really means but they say it is a good thing, so that makes me happy and proud.  I went online and found out what a terrier is... any of various usually small (I'm not very small) energetic (I am very energetic) dogs originally used by hunters to dig for small game and engage the quarry underground or drive it out.  Now, that's what I'm talkin' about in this blog.  


I have a nice, although limited, kingdom in our back yard here in Flor-i-duh.  It's boundary is marked, not by a moat filled with ally-gate-ers, but by these annoying, shockingly efficient, white flags, which I admit kind of scare me, so I stay away from them.

The yard is technically much bigger than my kingdom but I am doing my very best to protect my kingdom from small game, known here in Flor-i-duh as...get-goes.

Flor-i-duh get-go trying to attract me

These get-goes are very fast and can hide almost everywhere, so they could hide anywhere in the yard without entering my kingdom.  However, where they choose to hide is smack in the middle of my kingdom in the planter that surrounds the tree.  They hide there because they have heard my mama and papa say "Titan, OFF!" or "Titan, get out of there!" so they figure they are safe.

Listening intently to the get-goes tease me...nah, nah, nah,nah, na,na

They even make noises that my mama and papa can't hear, purposely taunting me ;o( 

Not.So.Fast get-goes! 


Sooo, I have been hunting them, hiding my head near the plants in the planter, so they can't see me hunting them.

Can't see me, can you?

Proof that I am a good "hider"

Unfortunately, no matter how well I hide, I can't catch those darn get-goes. I think they got their name because they "get up and go" really fast!  Plus, when they aren't going really fast, they don't move at all but hide better than I can.  I have occasionally frightened them onto the tree, which causes me to jump straight up and into the planter, which causes my mama or papa to talk loudly to me and I know I am in trouble.  I hear the get-goes softly laughing as I am unceremoniously dragged out of the planter.  But I am not deterred and continue to hunt (and get into trouble) until I am removed from my kingdom and relegated to the house.

Tomorrow is another day and I will try again!

Woof, Woof
;o)

OPA!!

You might ask yourself...what exactly does that mean.  That's what I was asking after spending yesterday afternoon at the Greek Festival.  According to Answer.com...It doesn't really 'mean' anything. It's an exclamation of joy, like "whoopee" or "hooray."

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the festival.  We passed up the Wine and Jazz Festival; neither of us likes jazz and I only like wine that isn't really wine.  So instead, we decided to spend some time with others enjoying good food and fun dancing.

Lunch was very tasty, although I didn't know what the ingredients were or how to pronounce it.  They were very helpful and provided nice photos and a description of what was available. 

Lower left...spanakopita (spinach pie)  REALLY GOOD!
Upper left...souvlaki (pork kabob in a pita roll) not that good ;o(
Upper right...greek salad (kind of speaks for itself, huh?)  good
Lower right...dolmades (stuffed grape leaves)  REALLY GOOD except they are served cold and I expected them to be hot, so it was a surprise in my mouth ;o)

I had tasted the spanakopita before but it was frozen and this was fresh.  Fresh is better!  I had always wanted to taste stuffed grape leaves and they were really tasty.  These were filled with rice and must have been sitting in a kind of marinade.

Stuffed grape leaves and a tasty beverage 

Greek salad, spinach pie and stuffed grape leaves

For dessert we had Kourabiedes (butter cookies covered with powdered sugar).  We didn't get a picture of these but they were also very good.  However, a word to the wise, don't take a big bite of a kouradiedes because there is so much powdered sugar floating around in your mouth, you can't breathe and IF you breathe, you suck all that sugar down your throat and it's really hard to make enough saliva to wet all that damn sugar.  Take small bites ;o)

They also had Greek music and dancing, which was lots of fun to watch and everyone was having a good time.

Father Ian welcomed those that were interested into the church and gave an interesting presentation about the history of the church, the three sections of the church and the icons. 

From there we headed to Fishermen's Village and had our cup of coffee on the swing by the river.

Our second favorite swing (the marina is to the left)

Our least favorite swing but sometimes it's the only choice

The weather has been picture perfect for the past week and promises to continue through next weekend.  The skies are clear, the sun is warm and bright and the temps are in the low 80's.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

PS...if anyone knows why the videos aren't coming up with the picture and the play arrow, please let me know.  They are correct on the draft ;o(

I Am Titan - I Speak My Mind

My mama says she ah-pawl-i-gizes that you can't see me very well...

but she said she has to "sees" the moment because I'm not very kew-op-er-a-tiv.  She doesn't use her happy voice when she says that so I don't think it's a comp-li-ment like when she calls me handsome or says I'm a good boy.

Woof, Woof

;o)

Red, White and Blue

Toenails painted RED resting on a bed of sand, bleached nearly WHITE by the sun,

 disappearing into a sea of BLUE

under a cloudless sky.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Happy Valentine's Day

What did you do to celebrate today?

For 12 to 15 years I worked for a florist and delivered flowers on Valentine's Day.  I always loved that job because, for the most part, everyone loves getting flowers and they were happy to see me at their door.  I filled my car with as many deliveries as possible and got to enjoy the arrangements until the car was empty. Having my car filled with the fragrance of dozens of flowers was awesome.

For the past couple of years, Mr. Bill and I decided we weren't going to buy gifts for each other but we would go out for a nice dinner.  There is a  restaurant not far away that offers a Valentine special for dinner and we talked about going there; however, I didn't exactly jump up and call.  Sooo, by the time I called last week they had availability for reservations at 3:00 (IN THE AFTERNOON) OR 9:00 (NEARLY MY BEDTIME).  Thanks, anyway.  We stopped at our favorite butcher shop over the weekend and they had a wonderful Valentine special, which Mr. Bill thought sounded good.  Well, he was right.  We had two beautiful fillets, two twice baked potatoes and some baby asparagus. 

All for about half of what we would have paid someone else to cook it and serve it up.  Mr. Bill cooked the fillets to perfection, of course!

That's not all...we shared a superb cupcake for dessert, which we picked up at the farmer's market over the weekend.

Chocolate, chocolate chip with chocolate frosting and red sprinkles

These cupcakes are about half again as big as a regular cupcake.  They are not only delicious but are filled with a chocolate mousse.

It was a very nice Valentine dinner.  Thank you Mr. Bill. 

At the risk of freaking everyone out, we spent the morning doing something that neither of us has ever done before.   Rest assured...all is well.  We spent 3 1/2 hours in the emergency room at a local hospital.  I have been having some lower rib pain almost since we got here.  I figured I pulled a muscle, or dislocated a rib, or something else that I couldn't explain.  It was better for awhile but has been bothering me the last couple of weeks and wasn't getting better.  I spoke to the insurance "Nurse Line" last night to ask whether or not it was something to be concerned about or if it could wait until we got home.  I was a little disconcerted when she said I should visit an Urgent Care Clinic or the ER since it had been going on so long.  Soooo, that's where we headed this morning.  They were very nice and efficient, took several xrays and didn't find anything.  My diagnosis was musculoskeletal chest pain (a pulled or strained muscle) and they gave me a couple of prescriptions. 

I didn't call any family or friends because it makes everyone worry and I didn't see any point in people worrying until I knew what was going on, so hopefully I'm not in trouble with anyone.  I already have an appointment with my PCP in April when we return so I can follow up then, if necessary.  While speaking with the insurance company, I discovered that I can sign up for a program that allows me to have a PCP in Florida as well as Maine and it doesn't cost anything extra.  I had no idea that was an option but I'm excited to start the paperwork so I can have a Dr. next year when we come down.  Just.In.Case.

And that's what we did today.

Generally, for Valentine's Day, I send cards to my children and my girlfriends, letting them know that I think they are special and I'm glad they are in my life.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that this year.  I do have a new idea for next year; however, for all my friends that usually get a card and a few new ones, let this be your Valentine card.

"I think you are special.  Thanks for being part of my life.  Happy Valentine's Day"

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Sunrise...Sunset

If you see photos of the sunrise on this blog, it's very likely that my blog has been taken over by aliens.  I always enjoyed the sunrise when I was working and we had an early call.  "So this is what it looks like" was my usual comment.  I would watch them all the time if they just came later in the day.

This was my view out the back door during dinner tonight.

Not too shabby, huh?

I'm sure there's a way to take out those electrical wires but I don't have a clue how to do it.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

BBRRRRRRR, Again ;o(

Granted, there wasn't any frost on the pumpkin, not on the blades of grass, didn't have to scrape the car windows (actually, the car was in the garage, but I digress) but it was pretty darn cold this morning when I took Sir Titan for his morning walk to take care of business.  The wind was blowing a gale and the temp was in the LOW 40's!  It warmed up to 67* by late in the afternoon; however, this was my apparel for the day.

Natural cotton sunscreen

Yeah, that's right, a long sleeve t-shirt, winter jacket, jeans, shoes and socks.  My mittens and earmuffs are in my pocket, along with residue from the dog treats that Sir Titan loves and doggie "litter" (aka poop) bags (empty of course).  I didn't need the earmuffs or mittens but my motto is..."if you think about it, you should do it".  It's kind of the Universe's way of talking to you.

Although I have listened long and hard, I don't hear any sympathetic awwwws from anyone but that's okay; just keeping you updated.  Tonight is supposed to be "the last cold night until fall".  Yeah, right; I think I may have heard that one before. 

The upcoming week promises to be "the best week of the year, so far".

That's what I'm talkin' about!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)