seriouslyscorpio

thoughts of the moment and of my life

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current events, retirement, news,morals, ethics, government,


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AND LIFE IS GOOD….,


Sleeping til 9….hubby and kitty both purring…..
Opening the blinds to an ocean blue sky with cotton clouds…
Ten cups and 3 measures offer up a delightful aroma to begin the day…
Outside the news waits patiently….some good, some not…
And life is good…

Clothes peak out of the hamper, ready for a wash…
Plants lean toward the sun and wait for their faucet drink…
Kitty paws me for his morning treat and then heads to the front porch…
Soaking beans soften up to a ham hock for tonights supper…
And life is good….

A wodpecker looks for his meal in the Florida oak…
Squirrels scamper thru palm and frond, falling in love one moment, and digging up acorns the next…
Herons and gulls correspond as the sun rises further….looking for the baitfish to fattent their bellies…
And life is good…

Neighbors await their grandchildren, coming from the frozen north….
Wagons, sand pails, and cribs come out of storage, as the family comes together…
Snowbirds come and go, feeling lucky they are here to bask in the sun where coconut palms flourish…
And life is good…..

Blessings are acknowledged and health is never taken for granted….
Our 70 years have come so quickly, we sometimes lose count, until we look into the mirror…
Friendships are stronger, deeper, and longer than ever imagined….
A 50th high school reunion puzzles us to this very day…..
And life is good…

We carry on with our day, and smile that we no longer rise to be in the office at 7…
Our kind…..retirees, sift thru life’s memories and rejoice that children are grown and have jobs….
Their paths, beginning to march to the chorus of promises, dreams, sometimes stumbling as they find their way ……
And soon, one morning, they will find themselves, waking at 9, hubby and kitty purring, and the news of the day….. right outside…..
And life is good…..


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ACORN HARVESTING, SOUTH FLORIDA STYLE


South Florida should have an Acorn Festival….there are more acorns in my yard than the 6 squirrels living here can handle. They aren’t even hiding them…not even from one another for fun. They let them lie, they let them pile up. I think they need to stay in the higher branches of the oak trees or they will be pummeled. This year there are more acorns than even the old timers can remember. They bang on the tin roofs, they bang on the metal tops of the cars, they hit the as he works on his morning hit of cat nip, and they cover each and every inch of this yard.

There seems to be no reason for this gift from mother nature….and no end to gift giving! Maybe she forgot and waved her magic wand one too many times over our town, maybe too many squirrels called to say there were no acorns last year! All I know is that there is a possible oak forest coming here and I’m not prepared.

We raked a portion of the yard and filled our trash buckets for
‘green’ to overflowing….Remember now that acorns are not ‘leaf light’ and are not easy to rake, or to get out of the slits between the patio boards.

The acorns just lay there…..and sprout, oh yes, they are sprouting! Remember all my wonderful happy garden stores about saving seeds and cleaning the earth…..I ain’t sav’in these seeds and I’m aching all over from ‘cleaning the earth’ today.

South Florida also offers up another surprise with its oak trees….they don’t lose their leaves until Jan/Feb and they take forever to drop…..and, on top of that, there are little fuzzy flowers that come after that……to make more acorns, of course!

I know you are feeling sorry for me, as 12″ of snow fall in Minneapolis, or Spokane. I can see the tears from those of you in Buffalo. But please, have a heart and understand that these little devils are now laying in places I cannot reach…..and their sprouts are sprouting as we speak…..Ever read Jack and the Beanstalk…..?


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WELLS FARGO…..OH PLEASE, DELIVER ME


my husband cancelled two checking accounts with Wells Fargo…after going over the latest statements, we found that they were still sending the statements with “0” (zero) balance…..However, due to their new rules of charging a monthly fee for checking accounts….they sent the most current statement saying we owed them $7.00 for having a checking account with less than $1500 in it (remember now this and another account were to be closed out) AND, my friends, AND they charged us $25.00 for overedraft protection because we didn’t have the $7.00 to pay for an account that had a zero balance in it that should have been closed 3 months ago!!!!

I say it is time to be mov’in on…….read your statement!!!!


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A LITTLE TAX HERE….A LITTLE TAX THERE


Dick Morris said on Fox,Romney should remind everyone Obama is planning on taxing the internet….that is over and above any state sales tax! Dang ….will it be starting in 2014 like all the other surprises!


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UH, NOW I GET IT!!


Sometimes, one is just sitting here, wondering what to write about..Not the UN today, cause FOX has taken care of that, okay and MSNBC too! And then, in a flash of being slightly irritated, my fingers start awork’in…..

It is the ‘what happens when you are ‘on hold” moments, I am now speaking to. First the answer, then the “oh, I’m so glad you called” voice, then the english part, then the ‘pressing for instruction’. I know the company would much rather me handle this on-line, but sometimes, one just can’t…..or, in my case, won’t.

I needed to change my username and password and there was no way to do it cause I couldn’t remember the username I put in…(see the circle here) I went to the ‘zero’ option because changing username didn’t quite fit in…make order…accounting….do you your person’s extension….etc. No option for ‘forgot name, dummy’

Surprise, I was the next in line…not 12 minutes like the last company, or ‘just leave your phone number’ from the company before that, but NEXT IN LINE!! Wow! Well the customer they were helping must have been as dumb as I, cause next in line was not 30 seconds or 1 minute or even 2….For this I do not fault the company…everyone should get equal time. HOWEVER, the music was enough to make me close the account right then and there. No I’m not talking type, as in rap, hip-hop, 70’s or elevator, I’m talking the sound, the tone, the inability to even figure out what era it came from. It was exhausting to even sit quietly and listen…it leaned on my nerves, like a mariachi band and Mancini being played at the same time. It was terrible..

But, never to ever waste a moment, I studied the situation, and have come to this conclusion….the ‘music on the phone’ company who must sell, install, and maintain this wonderous idea…use only one 8 track tape for all customers. I don’t mean one tape that sounds the same….I mean ONE TAPE! It is old, it is scratchy, it has bumps and grinds and slurs. It has quiet moments and screechy moments….and it just rolls over and over whenever the tape ends.

I now summarize….no one cares except me! I hear the same on my bank phone, on my ob/gyn phone, and on phones of people I buy stuff from….across the board, same song, same scratchy sound, same tape. But here’s the kicker….they don’t care!!!….mainly cause they don’t have to listen to it!!! I think it is really meant for me to become irritated, I will learn my lesson, set up the right ‘user info’ in the first place and only do business with them online. See I figured this out while I was writing…..it’s a conspiracy…..but it works! Just like it’s supposed to…Do you see the ‘stupid’ cap on my head?


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A CODE OF ETHICS…..FROM THE WILD WEST (1940’s)


My hubby and I were talking about morals, ethics, and general living when he remarked about Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code…We Googled it and here it is…..for you to ponder

GENE AUTRY’S COWBOY CODE

1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation’s laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.

As we come together in this 21st Century….it would seem that Gene Autry’s words, from the 40’s, are a little outdated…..But the truth be known….they are so very necessary in today’s world of self. Check out your code of ethics this week….see how yours stack up!

Thanks Gene…..


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A PIN/PENCLE AND PAPUR


Florida is having to come to terms with the FCAT scores …..kids can’t/won’t write…..Up until this year, spelling and punctuation was not considered in the test scores…..as in, one didn’t have know how to spell or punctuate.I’ll write more later…..when I get my pin


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THE PLOT THICKENS


After my parents died, our family found they had a cemetary plot they didn’t choose to use. We put it up for sale and received phone calls regarding the purchase….There were a few that asked “What’s wrong with it?” mmmmmmmm


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SAY WHAT!!!!!…


This mornings news said two things one should do when turned down for a job…..don’t feel bad…..and send them a thank you note….
NO!!!!! AND NO!!!! I will feel bad and I will hold off on the note…sending it to the person WHO GIVES ME A JOB!!!


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THE SOUNDS OF BEAUTY IN MY YARD


Mother Nature teaches us all kinds of lessons. Some are very quiet and peaceful, such as the sun touching our face, or wind conducting a symphony with my outdoor chimes.  I love the fog clouds as they climb come over the mountains. They seem so strong and determined and then the sun touches their fingertips and they go way to who knows where. 

The sounds of nature used to be distant, as I was too busy to stop and listen to the branches sway, the finches bathe, and the maple leaves land on the lawn grass.

  Now, I take the time….as time is drawing nigh in my life.  I watch the sun rise on some mornings, knowing that my grandchildren are up and already in school and my brother is loading is truck for the day.   I take comfort in knowing these quiet moments, before the day begins.

As I make coffee, finches, by some magical design, come from nowhere and everywhere to breakfast on sunflower and thistle in my back yard.  We evidently have a friendship because when I put my kitty out on his leash and discard  the morning paper, they continue ‘talking over the fence’ as though I didn’t exist.

The iris have faded for the season and I am trimming their tired leaves, as new ones reach to the sky for added enrichment before winter.  Each day, when my inside work is done, I take my little seat, my gloves, an my clippers and work my way around the yard, just to freshen everyone’s looks for those who walk by.    I hope it makes them feel better, cause it makes me feel better.

I’ve given up on the gopher and the two ground squirrels.  I think the gopher knows he is okay as long as he stays on the slope, but woe to him, if he ventures onto my yard.  The squirrels, however, come and eat the dropped seeds with their feathery friends. 

Mr. and Mrs. Crow, however, even tho they come almost every day, have not been welcomed by the aforementioned.  I don’t know what  was said, but it sure rubbed everyone the wrong way.  The couple come in late morning to miss the breakfast crowd and they waddle  their way thru the dropped seeds, not minding if the picking is thin.  If, by mistake, the squirrels are still there, they  might nip at their tails now and then, to gain the prime seed spot.

And so it goes, Mother Nature, tapping us on the shoulder, every moment of our lives….if only we would take time to feel her touch.