Pudding, the new bird....

David and Ashley have re-homed their rescue Cockatiel  "Pudding" to us so we can give her more time. She is an amazing bird!  Louie, our Ring Neck Parrot, is interested in her, and the pup Buddy and cats Gwennie and Ginger are withholding their opinions :).  Video shot on day 1 of his re-homing.

Gilcrest Blue Springs State Park

We just got in Thursday from a four night stay at Gilcrest Blue Springs State Park in High Springs, FL. Had a real nice time with good friends Mel and Dotti, Ken and Linda and John and Loretta. Snaps and video clip here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/oULyf24g9tBtGzas5

Short Google movie clip here from this event: https://photos.app.goo.gl/r5xFtqxWAemsKoos7

Pat and friends....

Our friend Pat Novotny got back to town from her world travels with her friends Micheline & Daniel, who hail from Quebec.  He is a current maple syrup maker who used to run a dairy farm...fascinating people! The snaps below are from a lunch we had at New York, New York on the Indian River here in Titusville. Top photo, L to R: Alice, Mel, Pat, Dotti, Micheline & Daniel.

Dependence on technology...

So, it's looking like a reasonably normal morning. It had rained hard during the night, the hound wanted to go out but barely (does not like rain), and I'd sat down in front of my Chromebook to look at my email, Facebook and hometown news with my first cup of coffee.  I rec'd an Error to Load message, so started going thru the steps to see what was going on.  My notebook, i-pad and i-phone all said I was connected with a strong signal but....no joy or connectivity :(.  I talked to Google Home and she gave me a prerecorded message on internet problems...but by this time I'm so stressed out (have NOT had that cup of coffee yet!) I kind of tuned her out.  What is odd is that the smart TV was working and it's Roku too....
Long story short, I went upstairs and re-booted the router and modem and...voila!, all is well in Titusville land. But it was a quick early morning reminder of how much I rely on this wonderful (when it works) technology...and how stressful it gets when it goes away. It's too easy to take it all for granted.

From my FB posting on Buddy's adoption anniversary Feb 8th....

Description:Buddy’s age is estimated at 2 years Old as of his adoption date.
We'll be at the Lake Kissimmee State Park on his "Got Home" date so I'm posting early. He is one wonderful hound!! Lots of trouble, but still :)..

A bit of a reprieve....

On Thursday we had a tela-conference with a VA surgeon in Miami discussing some options on a condition I have with blocked arteries, a condition I had by-pass surgery several years ago. Long story short we're going to look closer at my cardiac issues and monitor things closely, but forgo surgery for the time being. My "symptoms" are not severe so it's not worth the danger of surgery at this time for the possible benefit.

Reading the Connecticut obits from Florida....

Reading the obits:  So, here I am in Florida on a reasonably warm (59 deg in January!) morning sipping my first cup of coffee and reading the obits in the New London Day, my former CT hometown newspaper.  Up until our arrival here in Titusville in 2012 we’d spent our entire life in Southeastern CT (East Lyme and Preston) so our roots there are strong.  It occurs to me that I’ve been blessed in knowing so many people over the years, primarily due to my occupation prior to retirement.  I was an insurance agent (Allstate Senior Account Agent) for over thirty years, and that entailed daily contact with many people, a lot of them who became friends and customers. So (and I’m drifting a bit here) that’s how I remember folks not only from the towns in where we lived, but also towns like Groton, Mystic, North Stonington and a lot of other local towns and cities.  A name and photo shows up in the obits and I remember :”Yeah, collected cars and had that nice Cape with the fenced yard” or something. Amazing how much we DO remember with a little nudging from a paragraph or two and a photo, especially if they’ve chosen one that was “back in the day” so to speak. I like people and on reflection the job I had was probably a heck of a lot better for me than having to sit in an office or cubicle with a slide rule or computer.  I’m thankful for having known so many fine customers who turned into friends over the years.