What Happens in Florida

Joining FFF (Final Friday Fiction) with Yamini and  with Nature Friday, with Rosy at LLB in Backyard.  All rolled into one post.

This is What happens in Florida if you take a potted plant that died and dump it in the corner of the fence, right behind a bush that hides the evidence of said dumping.

Many years ago, about 20, I think, my fellow team members at work sent me a live mixed plant garden. It had a few green leaves of pothos plant 1 small tiny tree thingy, ivy  and cut daisies.

 I, of the black thumb,  neglected to water it and soon it traveled over the leafy trail into plant never-never land, and turned quite brown. NOTE: I thought it was DEAD and it would be ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

I forgot I live in the tropics.

.

soon, the tiny vine covered the bush, the leaves grew to HUGE leaves, the vines climbed the fence, they traveled to the top of the oak tree.

They wandered up the fence, not just one fence but 3 fences..

The man of the house, with many angry kind words, chided the woman, who dumped the plant, that climbed the bush, that climbed 3 fences and he cut back the vines.

And cut back The Vines.

And Cut Back The Vines,  and on and on over the years. He has chopped for 20 years.

What happens in Florida, stays here and stays here and stays here.

The good news 😜 is, as you can see in the first few photos, the wandering vines are quite lovely as they travel around the yard in the sun headed for fence number 4.

Alas! The Man Is Not Impressed with the lovely vine traveling. But that is another story.

Todays Photos taken In January of 2020....by the MadSnapper, who Madly dumped the dead plant and tried to hide the evidence.

Joingin Final Friday Fiction with Yam-Aunty, click here for RULES if you want to join in.

Joining Nature Friday with the LLB Gang

Nope! not Wordless Wed

I don't do movie reviews. From past experience I know that my movie favorites are not usually your movie favorites. Action, Thrillers etc. But I do LOVE A GOOD STORY....

Bob and I watched The Upside, Saturday night. It was on Prime Showtime Channel. and the night before Troop Zero....

Both movies lead me to believe there are still good people in this silly old world.

They are stories with a a beginning and an end and we felt so good after we watched them.. A few times we laughed until we had tears in our eyes on The Upside.

On the Bright Side

While exercising in the pool with my friends, a new man came and walked to the wall, all the lanes were full. As he stood staring and deciding what to do......

 I said   "You can use the lane against the rope, we will stay out of your way. We always share lanes"

He smiled and said "Thank you" I love your accent, where are you from?"

Savannnahhhh Georrrgia I sang in Georgia Speak...

He said I KNEW IT! Georgia...

You may all call me Scarlet Ohara from now on.... (sorry if you are young or from another country and are not familiar with Gone With the Wind and Scarlet from Georgia.

I sound JUST LIKE HER,, also we are true LOOK A LIKES.😜


Click here to see and hear Scarlett and make comparisons.. if the video doesn't work

Fiddly Dee, can you see the resemblance???

Mayo or No Mayo?

While jumping up and down exercising/chatting in the pool with my friends Jackie and Patsy, as we do five days a week, I said I could eat Mayo with a spoon. Not out of the blue mind you. Patsy is a KOP, Keep off Pounds sensibly, and the person who directed me to TOPS 3 years ago.

The comment fit the conversation we were having. Discussing healthy vs unhealthy foods.

I said I love mayonnaise on bread, crackers, burgers, sandwiches. Just give me a slice of WHITE bread and a jar of Mayo... or a box of crackers and a jar of mayo.

Patsy said "I can't remember when I last ate Mayonnaise. In fact I have never had  jar of it in my home, not even as a child"

WHAT?

I would have fainted dead on the floor at this comment but, we WERE in the pool.

What do you put in deviled eggs, potato salad, chicken salad, ham salad, bacon sandwich, TOMATO sandwich?
Her answer was MUSTARD? OMW!!! I put mayo AND mustard in eggs, potato salad or hotdogs.

Forget healthy, I know it is NOT but  lets hear from all of you?

Mayo or No Mayo? tell me please?
 Do you eat Mayonnaise?
What is your favorite brand? I am Blue Plate since birth. But there are a zillion brands, click HERE to see the brands, and this has to mean a lot of people eat Mayo or there would not be a zillion brands.

Staghorn Sunday

Staghorn Fern

  'thinking of you frondly"

Thank you all for being my frond, I am so very frond of all of you.  

Note to all of you that read yesterday post on my glasses.

I have been wearing glasses since 1992 and have never had any problems at all. the fact that not one but two factories that make the lens, made mistakes, is scary. these errors had nothing to do with the Optical shops at all. Also has nothing to do with our insurance.

Staghorn or Elkhorn plant hanging in our oak tree

Cursed!

In the interest of not wasting your time, I will try to write the Case of the Cursed Glasses in short sentences.

November 25, 2019, eyes examined at Free Clinic

My prescription changed drastically in 2 years.

I ordered these glasses, with promise of week to 10 days delivery

12 days, no glasses, I call office, she says, they sent them to our Palmetto office, you can drive there are pick them up here in 2 days.

I chose 2 days, day 16 she calls and says, they put the wrong prescription in one side.

we are sending them back, will be another 10 days.

Jan 15th, I pick up the glasses.

I can see really well, but can't see the computer screen, I use 10 year old progressive lens to see computer, and suffer trying to read though the  bifocals with lines.

Also the are not antiglare, so the lights of cars driving behind me glare.

I suffered through with HOPE for new progressive lens in the future.

I go to the optical shop where I purchased my expensive glasses, and order Progressive Lens, in my titanium lightweight frames, and will not publish the price I paid just in case Hubby reads this post.

I will not tell him unless he ask me, so far he has not. THINK YOWSA expensive.

She says Week to Ten Days.

I sigh with joy, thinking in 10 days I can stop making ten trips a day going back to take off computer glasses and put on SEEING glasses, because I keep standing up and walking off with computer glasses and don't realize it until I can't see the TV or what I am cooking on the stove or read my kindle.

Keep in mind this is not the same optical shop.

I should have known the glasses were cursed, because I came out of the shop and went to open the car door and there was a BLOODY Palm Print on the handle to my car.

I kid you not!

My what iffer started its scenarios of Aids, Hepatitis C, Jack the Ripper came and missed me...

and led off down another track trying to decide Just How It Got there.

Finally on Jan 23, 2 MONTHS since I ordered my new glasses, the free pair, they email I can come get the NEW, better, expensive glasses. 

I race to the shop!

Excited to the Max.

She sits the new glasses on my face and I can't see a thing.

I say these are not right.

She says, it takes a while to get used to them.

I hold up my hand in STOP position.

These are not right. The ones I have on I see perfectly, it is the same prescription, these were free those were NOT...

She says while tapping the prescription, why would you put an old prescription in new lens.

(she is not the person I ordered them from)

I wanted to scream. I try not to raise my voice, and say it IS A NEW PRESCRIPTION.

Then I notice something else, my lens were round on the side, not square.

She has the nerve to say, that doesn't matter. I said oh YES IT DOES!

She says let me have the glasses you have on.

She goes in the back with both pair and comes back and says they sent the wrong glasses.

These are not your prescription.

What are the odds that two different optical shops, two different lens factories, would both make a mistake on two separate pairs of glasses and put the wrong prescription in.

At least the free glasses, she checked them before she called me, and found they were wrong.

the ones I PRE paid hundreds of dollars for, they did NOT check before I went over there.

I AM WAITING ANOTHER TEN DAYS. plus still walking off with the wrong glasses on my face.

I actually last week, got in the car and realized I could not SEE because I had the wrong glasses on. 

Someone Help Me Please...

I might tell the INSURANCE STORY of Bob's Derm Doc visit, if  I ever get it straight enough to tell

free glasses provided by medicare every 2 years Prior Post HERE

https://snapperone.blogspot.com/2020/01/free-glasses-for-me.html

Nature Friday Walk

We left home just after sunrise, Sunday morning, I pointed to the sky in front of us and said LOOK we are walking under the middle of a rainbow!  (my cell would not take both ends, I snapped each end and made a collage?

Knowing the rainbow was in the Western sky and that there must be something spectacular behind us, I turned with cell held high and there it was. Glorious sun rising in the east.

Wonderful Wordy Wed.

January 1st, our HMO changed to a new Advantage Plan. I knew when I signed up, we needed referrals from Primary Doctor to see a specialist.

Bob had an appointment with a Dermatologist (specialist) and the woman at front desk said we did not need a referral because it did not say we did in her computer.

I came home, dialed the new HMO,  and felt my blood pressure climb each time the automated voice asked  question, she did not like my answers and aske more questions..

Auto Voice: I see by your phone number you are a member, please state your date of birth.

ME: 9/5/44

AV: I did not understand date of birth, please state in this fashion, January 1, 2020

ME: September 5th, 1944

AV: thank you and on and on with more automated questions.

Finally I heard a live person
LP:  Thank your for calling, my name is blah How may I help you. (heavy accent, I had to ask for repeat)

ME: I have a question. My husband has an appointment with a dermatologist , he has the same policy as I do, does it require a referral?

LP: I am pulling up your policy, Have you had breakfast?

ME: WHAT? thinking either the accent or my brain was the culprit?

LP: Have you had breakfast?  ( it was 10 am) it is very important that you eat a healthy breakfast every day and she went on until I interrupted her.

ME: YES! I HAVE HAD BREAKFAST! Do we need a referral or NOT?

LP: Yes you need a referral. Would you like me to add your husband to your account so he can call for you? Again with repeat what she said, do to accent

ME: No, but will you check to see if you received the letter I mailed adding me on to call for him. He doesn't talk on the phone.

I will leave you here, because it took another yada yada blah blah  and repeat, repeat, to finally get the answer Yes they received it.
NOW, I sit and wonder, did they get the referral there? Are we going to be billed? 

More Mouth Speak

Need a Talker? 

  I walked into the YMCA with my friend Patsy, I was talking a mile a minute, filling her in on Doc visit with Bob, yada yada blah blah blah..
as we walked I said "I got up today and there were no more than 3 spots I could touch that did not hurt/ache."

 She calmly said "well there is nothing wrong with your mouth" and we both laughed so hard people were staring...

Now Bob says that every time I talk..... 

Bloviator?

Yes, LC, it is a word

My friend Rose, of Time Stand Still, loves to go back in time and read under the labels conversation or Bob, which is  the conversations between the two of us.

She says they make her laugh.  Last week she emailed and said she needed cheering up, and went to my post from 5 years ago, to re-read Bloviator.

Bloviator prior post here 

I had been awaiting in inspiration for a new header, Thank You Rose.

In 2009, I named the blog MadSnapper because I took 87 million photos of any and all things. 

Over the years my blog evolved into talking about the banal, mundane, humdrum, day-to-day life I lead.

From this day forward, I will be known as MadSnapper AKA Bloviator.

Evidently I write the same as I TALK!

I have been told by others:

 if I worked outside my tongue would get burned.

that I have a black belt in conversation

and my husband was asked if his wife was the one that talks a lot ,by the life guard at the YMCA.

I am NOT fluent in Silence!

A few 😁 may have thought but not said, You sound better with your mouth closed.

If the Bloviator fits...………...😎

Windwalking

Friday Jan 17th, I went for a mid morning walk around the neighborhood. the wind was blowing, the sun was shining, I was comfy in capri's and a t-shirt.  I took 6 quick cell videos to show the wind blowing. pardon the sound of the wind. I rarely take videos and have no clue what I was doing when I put the six of them together. Hope it plays for you

I have a question. Why do I talk silly and not in my normal voice when taking videos? 

Hair

Did you know Dapples of Sunshine Hide Wrinkles? Now You do!

Does the first photo make my head look as big as a HOUSE? Are my shoulders as wide as a pool?

Is this post Sheer Genius?

Samsung Tablet got stuck on Selfie Mode and Sun Dapples and ME... the one below is the true color of my hair. You should have seen me trying to find the Right Spot for sunshine on my face, that allowed me to see the screen of the tablet. Forgot to say yesterday the glasses are Burgundy Gun Metal in color..

These are not grey hairs! they are all natural, non chemical highlights

GUESS what?

Saturday, Jan. 3rd, 2020, Bob and I were walking Big Boy, only 5 houses down from our own house. Suddenly  Bob and I both said loudly, in Unison, DID YOU SEE THAT?

I said was that what I thought it was, it flew 15 feet off the ground, about 20 feet in front our eyes.

Guess what it was?? In the City Limits, on a city street? I have been accusing the hawk of eating all our squirrels and birds and the big fat bunny that lived right in front of what we saw.

It was an EAGLE!  Alas! I have no PHOTO!

Click here to see Michael Peychich photo that looks exactly like our eagle that flew in front of our faces... .

His feet were up and he was diving like an arrow aimed  at we don't know what. At least Big is to big to be carried off... The only picture of and Eagle  I have is this...

I painted the above, and used a colorbook  page to create the graphic below..

Free Glasses for ME

Bob and I are on a Medicare Advantage Plan HMO... Every 2 years, I can get new FREE glasses on this plan. Free!  I have never taken the deal as I prefer to put new lenses in my rimless Sighlouttes, that are titanium arms, cyrizlite non glass, no glare and very expensive lens.

They weigh nothing. I forget they are on my face. These new ones are heavy metal, and the glass is even heavier. I already have a sore red spot where they sit.

Plus they are lined bi-focals and very hard to find the spot to see properly. I am wearing these while my others were sent off for new trifocal lens.

I am home today and not a TOPS because I am dragging Bob by the hair of his chinny, chin, chin to the dermatologist to let her try to talk him into a surgery for melanoma. He had it removed in 2017, it recurred in same spot but much bigger, they removed it last May 2019 and wanted to do another because Margins were not clear. He has refused for 8 months, we shall see if the doc can change his mind...

This is the first time I have missed the weekly TOPS meeting in 3 years. I posted all the selfies because I AM THE MADSNAPPER

Blow out??? Wite Out?

Suns OUT! 

Does Wite Out Make me look thinner?

Is this a White out? Blow Out? Camera malfunction? photographer Malfunction?

OR All of the above.

I made my own TSHIRT

ALL about ALL

Do I LOOK Crazy??

While taking photos of Big sleeping in the sunny kitchen, I realized if I faced the sun, it removed the kitchen from the back ground.

Today is not All about ME, even though it appears that way. I use ALL Detergent and Fabric softener since it is the only brand I am not allergic to. 

They sit side by side on the dryer, the only way to tell which is which is which, is White Lid detergent, Blue Lid Fabric Softener and the detergent sits closest to the washer

. Easy! right? 

Wrong, what if my mind spaces and I reverse how I sit them. Will I check the lids? Make sure which is which? Well, of course I will, IF I remember. Will it ruin the washer if I pour Softner in the detergent hole and vise versa? 

I hope not, because I did. After I poured softener in detergent hole, I realized what I did and Added Detergent on Top of it.

Did the clothes get double soft? Since there was softener in Both Holes? 

That's Not All of This Story.

Two days before that, I poured bleach in the detergent hole. OH No! 

Yes, I added detergent in the same hole!

My towels were clean and now I am wondering just how confused my Washer is?

Or better yet how confused are you?

Does it matter? 

MopVacMan in the house

we have all of the above, just so you know.

Update on the Bissell Sweeper. I neglected details of why we have this outdated sweeper.

Bob and I do our floors every Saturday AM at 5.

 I sweep tile floors, he vacs the carpets and mops the tile. I clean the glass top tables and sliding glass doors.

I have a small rechargable hand held vac, that pics up dog hairs I sweep up with the broom.

Bob  has been VacMopMan for about 20 years now due to the fact I have a bad back.

He rather do that then listen to me moan in pain the next 2 days.

The roller Bissell was bought in 2017 when Bob had a stroke and for about 8 weeks could not use the vacuum.
I swept, mopped and Bissel Swept the carpet. This worked fine because the MAN was not able to MESS as much as normally.

I got the idea for the sweeper from watching the waitress roller sweep crumbs from under a table after the children left.
If you know me, you know I bought the Bissell at Wal-Mart.
Now we have 4 brooms, 2 vacs and a Sweeper.
Now if there was only an APP that could do all of it.

The Simple Life

I don't mean to make sweeping generalizations, but all brooms are pretty much the same!

But not my Bissel. I love it! It sweeps by person power, just roll it back and forth, if the power is out, use the time to sweep. Need exercise? sweep the whole house with it... Do you have one?

We use brooms for sweeping, upright vacuum for the carpets. This is for in between and sweeping up dog/man crumbs between Saturdays, which is when we do the floors together. Me on the broom, Bob on the Vac.

A little PHUN for you..

A chimney sweep called in sick to work! He had a touch of the flue.

A guy calls a chimney sweep to get his chimney cleaned. The sweep checks it out and then says he can do the job for $1,200. "TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!" the guy shouts. "For that much I'll do it myself." The sweep chuckles and says "Okay soot yourself "

Savannah Sistas

In Memory of my friend Carole, who left this world Friday, January 10th, 2020

Always loved, ❤ Never Forgotten, Forever Missed

 Carole loved all things BEACH and all things WATER.  She did NOT love shoveling snow, but she did it anyway.

 

Carole loved her daughters, her grandchildren and great grand and she loved her phone, in fact they all did, as you can see by the concentration on family PHUN at the reunion. . Bottom right, Carole, her brother Pat and his wife Madeline.

Bottom left is Catherine, Madeline, Carole

None of the photos shown were taken by me, they are all from family shots over the years, either emailed to me or from FB.

Vintage 1960 in the black and white. I will not give the year on Pat and Madelime

Little did I know, in 1959 when I became lifetime friends with Madeline in Junior high, and later in life with her husband Pat,  that when the internet came into our lives, we would form an email group called 5 Sistas and keep in daily contact by emails and Facebook for many years.

The members consisted of Madeline, her husbands sister, Carole, her cousins Ann (missing from photos, she did not do photos) and Catherine, and me, Sandra the MadSnapper. 

All five of us shared the hometown of Savannah, GA.

Each day since 2006, emails would fly back and forth, with so many replies to replies from 5 of us, it was sometime difficult to follow them. 

Our Sista' group has now dropped to the two of us, Madeline and Myself.

First we lost Ann, then Catherine and now our Carole is in heaven with her husband and son.

You can tell by the photos our lives were lived and shared with photos...

All five of us in different towns and far apart, but still together.

Each time I got new photos, I played with them. Now I use them as sweet memories!

UPDATE! I found a photo of Ann and Carole

Bigger than a Truck

Nature Friday has been provided by our Big Beautiful Powder Puff Bush, the one that is blooming and blooming. We planted this in 1989. It gets Big each year and Each year it is chopped back to four feet tall and the fun starts all over again.

Remember you can't plant flowers if you haven't botany!

I'm rooting for you! You Grow Girl!

What does the letter A and flowers have in common? Both are followed by bees.

Its Bigger than a Truck! 

Five Below

We went to Five Below. Nope! not tempature, The Store. 

Ad appears in mailbox.

I explain to Bob it is a Five dollars and below STORE! 

I know where it is because my friend Lola said she bought a cell charger there.

I have Bob Captive in my Kia, he must go where I go. I seize the moment!

Five Below is in the same strip mall with PetSmart, and lucky US, we are across the street from it when we leave Hungry Howie's after our Thursday Lunch Out (my one day a week stuff carbs day) .

We hit PetSmart together. I prefer shopping there when I can pet the dogs and LOOK!

I only need Bob to LIFT the 30 pound bag of dog food.

I pet 3 dogs, stop to look at Stuff, he stands with hands behind his back. 

After check out, despite the LOUD question, Where Are You Going? I drive to the other end of the strip and we enter Five Below.

He can find nothing he is interested in, I am interested in EVERYTHING ! I love Techy Stuff and the place is crammed with it.

He stands at attention, with hands behind the back. You know,  "Waiting Mode", Man Style, used at family functions, funerals, and while I chat at the Y. 

First in my basket was the Bluetooth Speaker, only $5.55. (that is not below five, but I paid it)

I will use it with my Samsung Tablet at TOPS meetings. I spent an hour figuring out how  how to download YouTube exercise music into my Tablet. I needed it to play off line, because we have no Wi-Fi at our meeting place.

The thing is, after I figured it out, it takes SECONDS to do it..

Total purchases, three. 

I will go back without the Man.. 

I will go back without THE Man.

Sunshine on my mind

once again, the sunshine coming in the kitchen window, grabbed my attention! ART! Can you guess what this is? Scroll down for the answer.

I purchased 4 of these little tablets for ONE DOLLAR at the dollar tree. They were spread on the table in MESS and the sun only hit part of them, creating ART!   To see more about these, follow this LINK to Big Boys Blog..