Alleluia...

My dear old Gramma used to say that on Good Friday it would be dark and gloomy and maybe rain from the hours of 12:00 to 3:00, while our good Lord was suffering on the cross. And this year she was right again.

As kids we observed Lent in all it's formats and never ate meat on Fridays. Lots of creamed tuna on toast with peas, if I recall. We thought long and hard before choosing a sacrifice for the season that would be easy enough to actually do and hard enough to still count. We didn't always make it, but at least we understood the meaning of sacrifice. Good Friday then was a day of reverence and we spent it indoors doing a quiet activity or watching mass on the t.v. Mom would usually be ironing. At promptly 3:00 plus 2 seconds, we were sprung from our vigil and coincidentally, the sun usually broke thru as we busted out the door to play. Another sign that the sacrifice of respect could be over.

Then after the Easter morning hoopla of baskets and eggs, we were spit shined up and hauled off to Mass. For some of those years, women still had to cover their heads, and I loved the spring hats that were on display. In northern Michigan we always pushed the limits considering that the temps were usually quite chilly and possibly snowy. But my Mother always treated Easter as the biggest holiday of all. Even bigger than Christmas-which is, in fact, the Catholic way. We waited impatiently for the hour to pass to go home and get our hands on those chocolate bunnies that were waiting.

I guess looking back, lent and Easter were probably our first lessons in sacrifice and selflessness. Altho I do not officially practice the season in that way, I love the things it taught. These days hold very little sacrifice for me, and being selfless is even harder. Having a wonderful dinner with friends made the day perfect and well, the rest of it I'll just have to work on. I promise.. xo to all of you on this glorious day.

Turn the Page....

Dig this pic of JR and I on our coffee and chat recently at Big Apple Bagels. I was all vacation sloth-like while Jim is as lean as a cat due to loooong, daily runs to the beach. I've heard running can help lift your mood but I prefer food and wine--hence the post vaycay chub!!! So how do you actually help a friend who's low? I hate to see anyone I care about in pain, but what really works in the way of helping to ease it? I've been grouped in a very special category with The Walking Man, as an honorary therapist, but all I've done is slurp coffee-that JR bought--and listen. It's sorta like a funeral where there are no words-available or necessary. Desperately, I sometimes fall back on the old chestnuts, you know, all things for a reason and when one door shuts, one door opens and the such. As inane as they sound, there is a bit of truth to 'em. As humans we just slog along thru the mud-or mud throwing-and eventually things even out and seem better. Or maybe it's just that we finally adjust to our new situations. Changes or shake ups in our routines are scary, especially after a long time of familiarity and comfort. Maybe the change has left us more open to something different-and dare we say better. Who can say? Time doesn't heal all wounds, but it does give us a chance to fill our days with new diversions. So much for all my womanly insights as a gal who's been to more than one rodeo.... The only things I know for sure that it doesn't matter what people think of us. It's not our responsibility to care about what they think. Your friends know the truth without being told. xo P.S. After numerous attempts to create paragraphs-what you see it what you get! Blogger refused to place nice. :( P.P.S.S. Detroit sports are rockin' the D! Tigers and Red Wings and new Pistons owners. Oh my...

Cadillac Style....

It's April in the D! And that found me in Detroit to join all the revelry associated with the season opener of our Detroit Tigers. Oh, yes, I was. Dressed in polar fleece. Hmmmm...mmm. I could go skiing or to a ball game. Can you believe it was 48 degrees at game time and only had JUST stopped drizzling in time for the fly over. I did have, in addition to the 4 layers, (my Keys blood is so thin!) my groovy soft Tiger blanket that a dude at the mall soaked me for. And lucky for me, it was the blanky that kept me warm till about the seventh inning when the sun finally came out. Normally I would dig right in to the beer and peanuts thing, but when the guy called out, 'cold beeeerrr', I answered with 'hot chocolate'! Large please. Had great seats and saw an action packed game in which the Tigs were victorious. Wish the rest of the series would have continued in the same fashion, but it's early in the season and ya can't win 'em all.

As with most events in Detroit, the people watching reined supreme. Even the parking structure held parties by groups that had no intention of entering the park! The Elwood was packed with crazies gettin' their drunk on and losing their voices. The dude with the tiger print suit was in proud attendance, and the guy that features himself the pimp in orange was wandering about feelin' his pimp hand. The usual amount of tartlets that dressed like it was 80 degrees could be spotted freezin' their asses off while looking remarkably hot--and stupid.

Saturday I thawed out and relaxed, and later hit Luigii's with friends for dinner. And lo and behold, on Sunday the temp climbed to 78! Now we're talkin'! I actually dressed like one of those tartlets and enjoyed the sunshine and dug into the newest book in the 'Earth Children' series by Jean Auel. Some barbecued chicken and a movie finished off a great weekend.

Hope yours was wonderful, too. Spring is here, or almost anyways. Keep the faith, Babes!! xo

Home Sweet Home...

I arrived home on April Fools Day after 5 weeks in the sunny Keys. The weather being the evil joke on all of us. Coming home after being gone that long is a very surreal experience. I have never, ever been away from home that long and somehow the Florida place never really feels like 'home'. I can't really explain it, but it's just not the same. Maybe the lack of any type of schedule is part of it, with daily happy hour being the only set thing. The first 3 weeks were spent helping with a kitchen/living area remodel and went by in an exhausted haze. (It turned out great, by the way.) I didn't get in the pool the whole timeand spent FAR too much time at Home Depot where I am now known as a regular. The next two weeks when I could enjoy the fruits of my labor, I did get in some boating and pool time. Still, it's just not home for me yet. I miss my home bed, with it's down comforter. My Macomb Daily crossword is like a religion to ,and Mickey and I go every morning like clockwork out to get it. Keys Citizen's just doesn't cut it. At home, I watch Fox news with coffee and puzzle while my head engages. Miami news isn't quite as gritty as Detroit news with all it's updates on gator attacks and boating reports. Sunrises at the condo are gorgeous, in fact so much, that I take 'em for granted. And my afternoon 'laydown' is easy here with our mostly gray days, but in Florida you kinda get that, "it's too nice to be inside guilt", altho I can combat that issue with a doze in the hammock or on my pool float. I always have promises to somehow work out, but the sultry weather just makes that impossible for me. How those people can run in that heat and humidity confounds my lazy ass! I can't wait to go to the gym tomorrow and re-connect with my homies-a routine that helps me with my Luigii indulgences, again, that I just can't get in Florida. I love all the fresh seafood, but sometimes a girl just has to have a 'National Coney Island' to help herself get right. Thank goodness, I won't be officially retired (no cracks from the peanut gallery, please) for some time. Just not ready yet. Paradise is paradise, but home is it's own Eden for me. xoxo P.S. someone who will remain nameless (WM) is holding me personally responsible for NOT bringing home the warm weather with me. FYI, I put in the order and it's due to get here sometime this week! I do what I can....xo

Island in the Sun...

March 26, I've read, is an 'official' day to be considered. 'Make up your own holiday' is a novel idea and a good writing prompt for me. Let me see if my lazy, cocktail drenched brain is even able to engage..

Well, for one thing, the month of march is 'Deep Vein Thrombosis' month. Hmmmm, news to me--since I suffer the disorder myself. Just a little info to keep you up to speed on this sort of common, but rarely diagnosed disorder. When I was 35, and enjoying a salad on a lunch date, I just sort of collapsed and was unable to walk or talk. Very scary, especially for my date, Mark who had to CARRY my pitiful ass to the ER. It was thought at the time, that I was suffering from a funky PTSD brought on by a painful breakup..Fast forward 10 years later when it happened again, in an otherwise wonderful life. After 4 days in the hospital and every test known to man, I showed two spots on my brain, due to strokes! I was diagnosed with MS and put on the appropriate meds. Later, a spinal tap (yowchy!) showed that to be incorrect. A blood specialist found the defect and pinned me with DVT and promptly put me on massive blood thinners that leave me bloated and bruise prone. But I am no longer in danger of throwing clots. Just fat and black and blue! I will be on these evil meds forever. A simple, but thorough blood test could have originally found this problem in Alpena, but I did not have insurance at the time, and was basically stabilized and sent home to regain all my faculties. Undiagnosed, one more clot could have been my last.

So, for me, I just choose to celebrate life-as I do every day. You can guess that I have already made up and celebrated, 'Stay Naked all Day' day, and 'Eat Chocolate for all Three Meals Day', and a personal favorite, 'Stay Naked and Eat Chocolate for all Three Meals Day'! You know I could go on...

Let me know what you would make up for your own 'holiday' and what you would do. And if all else fails, get your blood checked while naked AND eating chocolate!!! xo

A Little South of Sanity...

And so it begins...Our annual 'Debauchery, Sloth, and Indulgence' tour, kicked off yesterday. All the usual players are here and ready for fun and sun. The weather report is perfect, perfect, and perfect! The rum and vodka have been installed in our new bar area. And we have ice in the door of the new fridge-more perfect! We finished the remodeling project in a record 2 and a half weeks and are very pleased with the results. It was long days and many trips to Home Depot, but it is finally complete. The new bar has 6 big comfy stools that will surely get broken in during the next 2 weeks. The Zodiac has already been out zipping around the mangroves and we have spotted manatees and a porpoise in our harbor. Not much else is planned other than the usual boating, eating, sunning and Key West visit. I could use and mani/pedi and a massage after lugging, hauling, schlepping, painting etc. I am raggedy! With the work done, more pool time is in my plans, also some reading and a few long naps with Lola. Lazy daze ahead...xo

Shiver me Timbers....

Ahoy, mateys! I realize the official 'Talk like a Pirate Day' isn't until September 19, but since I actually met some real life pirates, I just had to celebrate this monumental event a little early.

While treasure hunting at the Marathon Seafood Festival on Saturday-well blow me down-I found myself awash in pirate love when I met Cap'n Slappy and his beauteous wenches patrolling and pillaging the grounds. Avast! What pirattitude! After trading our best piratese and posing for this photo, I had to quench me thirst and headed my scurvy arse over to the libation tent for a nice cold mug 'o grog. If you are nautically inclined, I would advise you do the same... Arrrrrgh...