A week's worth

There's been more excitement in Libya (voting and elections) than in my life in Florida. Libya even made the front page of the local newspaper one day ... three exciting paragraphs! This is what I've been up to...

Adam and I went to watch the Tampa Bay Rays play against the New York Yankees. Baseball usually isn't my thing, but going to games is fun because there is more than baseball going on. We had a great time.

My mother and I spent some time shopping for furniture. She wants a new dining room table. We saw one she liked but we're still going to look around some more. The showroom was fabulous. I thought the palm trees were funny. Power recliner chairs... we need those in Libya!

The Fourth of July was quite nice. We had some family and a few friends over for a simple meal.... I found some really nice smoked beef sausages that we threw on the grill with the chicken, three kinds of potato salad, coleslaw, fruit salad, pasta, chips and dip. Unfortunately, someone forgot to bring the corn-on-the-cob. And there were cupcakes, cake and ice-cream for dessert. ... could we move after eating all that? Barely!

We finally roused ourselves and headed to the beach around sunset to watch the fireworks display. We all had a good time. 

While we were out and about one day we noticed a huge nest on a light pole at the corner of a busy intersection. We could see a pair of raptors. I don't know exactly what they are, maybe Birding Rob can identify them?

Here's a close up with the zoom... I need to upgrade to a better camera!

My mom had another doctor appointment so one morning was spent doing that. We had to wait a few minutes in the examining room, but there were plenty of magazines to read. Doesn't she look cute in her paper dress? How come there are no magazines or paper dresses in Libya?

One day, my sister, nephew and I met some friends at Largo Park. Once a month they offer free train rides on their tiny little railway. The train takes you all around the park, through a tunnel and over ponds. It's actually quite fun... we rode the train three times! There are all kinds of interesting things going on at the park...  the high school girls' flag team had practice, a small group was learning fencing and jousting, the playground area was packed, lots of people were out getting exercise and walking their dogs. Everything was very clean, well organized, and a big focus on safety. I'm looking forward to the day Libya will have such places because they sure deserve them... sigh... 

Jeremiah contemplating whether his mother would allow him to jump in the pond or not.

An oak tree as we zoom past on the train going 5 miles per hour.

We went out for dinner. There must have been hundreds of choices on the menu. Everything looked so good it was hard to decide. One thing I love about America is that they make sure you have a drink within seconds of sitting down... and they keep refilling. 

We went to the library where my mother took a beginners course on how to use an iPad... she needs to know how to work her 'machine'. There is lots happening at the library; movies, story telling, book clubs, discussion groups, computers, courses for computers and business, a coffee shop and a book shop, a garden... and there are books too, with lots of places to sit quietly, contemplate life or read. I love the library - it's one of my favourite places to be.

 That was my week....