This and That

OK, so I haven't written for a few days. I've been busy. I've been relaxing. I've been lazy. Take your pick.



THIS:
Dave, Sam and Erin left Tuesday night from the Punta Gorda Airport--probably the tiniest airport in existence! Even so, their tickets told them to get there 2 hours early. The kids decided they wanted their last meal to be at Schnappers-a great hotdog, burger, pizza, you name it--take out place on Sanibel. Yummy food. We ate, went back home for them to change into their winter togs, and headed for the airport which is about an hour's drive. We got there about 2 1/2 hours early. Dave went to check in and found that his suitcase was 10 pounds too heavy. Apparently some wet clothes, shoes, and Sam's X Box added a bit of weight. So they did some creative re-packing. The X Box, controllers, games, etc went in Sam's carry on. And whatever he had in his bag went in the big bag. They figured they might get checked at Security but they couldn't help it. And sure enough, they pulled Sam's bag out, opened it up, took out the X Box and ran it through xray. They finally decided that he wasn't a miniature terrorist, just an avid game player. Then they checked Erin's bag and opened it up looking for something. I have no idea what but they finally let her go through. Dave had no problem since he only had his computer. Anyway, the last we saw of them, they were headed to the tiny waiting room in the tiny airport to wait 2 hours to board their plane. Last I heard, they made it home safe and sound. We had a great visit with them. The kids were not looking forward to going back to school. They have been coming to Sanibel since they were infants and look on this as their second (or third if you count their other grandma's) home.



THAT
I've been watching the scale a lot this winter and I've noticed that it has steadily gone up since I arrived here last October. Could it be eating out too much? Could it be that it is only a few steps from the computer to the fridge? Could it be that we haven't been doing any exercising whatsoever? So Wednesday morning I decided enough was enough! It was time to start walking again. Afterall, we have a beautiful beach to walk on. Granted it has been very crowded lately since half the world has discovered Sanibel and tend to flock here by the droves in the winter. But crowded or not, we went walking. There are mile markers on the beach which makes it handy to see how far you have walked. Lucky because my pedometer gave up the ghost! Anyway, we walked a mile and a half up the beach towards the lighthouse. That means that we have to walk a mile and a half back, right?? My back was grumbling a bit when I got home but I made it. Yesterday, same 3 miles. Back grumbled but not too bad. Today, I decided I wanted to see more of the nature around here so we walked down Bailey Road to Bay Road. Bay Road goes through the Mangroves. Lots of wildlife--Ospreys, Marsh Rabbits, Ducks, Piliated Woodpeckers, Boattail Grackels, etc. Since we were walking on pavement instead of sand, it was my legs that started hurting today. But we managed 3 miles again. And did I mention that it is in the 80's here with HIGH humidity. And did I mention that the very thought of humidity makes me sweat--oops sorry--perspire. Profusely!! So, I was a sopping puddle when I got back home. I've been cutting out snacks, no sweets, drinking lots of liquids, eating lots of veggies and fruits. And guess what? I stepped on the scale---and---I haven't lost an ounce since Wednesday morning! Grrrr. I know, I know--stick with it. I will but I sure would like to see that scale drop a few pounds.

So, there you have it. As you can see, we have been doing this and that this week.

Wordless Wednesday-Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Enjoy more Wordless Wednesdays at Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes for Mom

Also, I know you are all busy checking out everyone's Wordless Wednesday but take the time to bookmark me and drop back to check out my blog. I am a retired Special Ed teacher who now spends most of her time on Sanibel Island, Florida volunteering for a Wildlife hospital rescuing and rehabbing wildlife. I even dumpster dive for injured Raccoons!! I am also the proud grandma of 5 wonderful grandkids and brag about them often!! OK, enough about me. Back to Wordless Wednesday.

Hangin' With the Kid and Grandkids Part 2

The kid and grandkids seemed to enjoy the play at the Schoolhouse Theatre the other night. It was probably the first actual play the grandkids have been to so I was skeptical. The play was Lucky Stiff, a musical farce. They both said they enjoyed it so I guess they did. Their dad and I also told them a lot about when we did theatre--back in the day. Dave and Karen grew up at the Fort Findlay Playhouse where I directed, acted, did tech etc. The kids both were in plays and worked tech on many, many shows. Anyway, it was fun reminiscing.

Yesterday was pretty much spent just chilling. We spent a lot of time on the deck reading. Mr. Snowbird, Dave and I are all reading Randy Wayne White books. And today, Sam caught the bug and he is now hooked also.

Last night Dave, the grandkids and I went to play miniature golf. I hadn't played in years but didn't do too badly. We really had a lot of fun and hit Schnappers afterwards for ice cream. Yum.


As evidenced by the pictures, we have been eating most of our meals out on the deck. The weather has been perfect this week. In the 70's and 80's. We have been grilling on the grill. Steaks the other night and brats and burgers last night. Again, yum!

Today, we will probably head to the beach. And tonight we will go out to eat.


Oh, and by the way, today is Mr. Snowbird's and my 46th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us.

Hangin' With the Kid and Grandkids

Wednesday night we drove to Punta Gorda to pick up our son, oldest grandson, and ONLY (and she doesn't let me forget it) granddaughter. They flew down here via Skybus, a fairly new airline which flies out of Columbus, Ohio. Way last December, our daughter in law heard about this airline and started searching. Apparently the first 10 seats sold for each flight go for $10 one way! She got them round trip tickets for a total of $60 plus tax!! Anyway, we left here two hours in advance not knowing what the traffic would be like as you never know when I 75 is going to be closed down here because of an accident. No traffic or accidents so we get there an hour early. It has to be the tiniest airport you would ever hope to see. One counter, a small glassed in room for security check, a room with one luggage carousel and a few chairs around the perimeter. The passengers have to disembark onto the tarmac then walk through a doorway where all of the people meeting them are standing. I haven't been able to meet someone coming straight off of the plane since 9-11. Anyway, as I said, we got there early so went into the restaurant. It is practically bigger than the whole airport! We had already had dinner so Mr. Snowbird ordered a hot fudge sundae and I splurged on onion rings. Both very good. There were a few others eating there too. One of the airport workers came in and asked if anyone was flying to Greensboro because if they were, they better get over to the airport now! Apparently, since Skybus is the only airline coming in here, they kind of do their own thing. I thought maybe we should head over to the waiting area. Good thing we did because they landed almost 20 minutes early. It kind of sounds like they leave early too if everyone is there. Anyway, we met them then headed back home. The kids were hungry so we stopped at Bahama Breeze for some appetizers and some adult beverages (for the adults). They have a great outside area with a fire pit in the middle. It quickly got their mind off of the snow and cold they had just left.

Thursday was spent just kind of chilling out, some serious R & R, and in the evening going to the Back To The Wild premier.

David had asked me a couple of weeks ago if I could get tickets to a Minnesota Twins pre season game. (Both the Twins and Red Sox have spring training in Ft. Myers). The last day of spring training was yesterday and I managed to get tickets. We were lucky enough to be up high enough so we were in the shade the whole time. Dave hadn't told the kids but kept it as a surprise. They spent most of the morning trying to guess where we were going but had no clue until we turned into the parking lot.

I have to work at CROW this afternoon. Since baby bird season has begun, that will be my primary job. Dave and the kids are taking me to work and then will head to West Gulf to enjoy a day on the beach. You have to be a Sanibel resident with an A parking pass to be able to park on West Gulf. This is the area where there are just homes so the crowds are minimal. MUCH better than the beach near us which for the past few weeks looks like pictures I've seen of Coney Island with wall to wall people. Then this evening we are going to go to the Schoolhouse Theatre to see a play-Lucky Stiff. Several weeks ago at the CROW Art Auction, I bid for and won gift certificates to the Schoolhouse so we are using some of them tonight.

They leave from the same tiny terminal Tuesday night and I think we should probably be there a bit early--just in case. Until then we have no plans for the rest of the time they are here. I guess we will just hangin' and chillin' and playin' it by ear.

Back To The Wild

Picture taken from video, Back to the Wild, by David E. Carter

We attended the Premier last night of "Back to the Wild". It is a documentary about CROW filmed and written by David E. Carter. Last summer, David approached Dr. PJ and said that he wanted to make a documentary about CROW. And so he did!

A picture of David E. Kelly taken from his website for Sanibel Films.

The documentary was 56 minutes long and was wonderful. David had filmed about 37 hours which he condensed down to what we saw last night. It started out with a release and then a VERY dramatic rescue of a Fish Crow which involved CAT Turner, one of our rehabbers, climbing a tree. The film also followed several patients from their admittance to their release. And of course, it did show a few of the patients who didn't make it--which is part of daily life at CROW--something you never get used to but learn to accept and move on. The documentary was narrated by Nick Clooney--whose son, George, is pretty popular also.

A picture of Nick Clooney borrowed from his Wikipedia site.

As a surprise to everyone, Dr. PJ and David dedicated the film to Shirley Walter, the founder of CROW. She was as surprised as everyone. There was a Q and A afterwards and Shirley did talk a bit about how she started CROW. She found a Royal Tern on the causeway, picked it up, and took it to the preserve headquarters which was at the lighthouse at the time. They wouldn't take the bird and neither would anyone else. So, she took it home and with no experience at all, nursed it back to health. This led to other birds and animals which she treated--all at her own expense. Finally she incorporated as Care and Rehabilitation of Wildlife so that people could donate money to help her out. And it grew from there. It is pretty amazing that this hospital, now called Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, grew from such a humble beginning.

The DVD will be available in a couple of weeks at the CROW giftshop. You may be able to order it online through the CROW website in the future. I have no idea how much it will cost. They did have a few very special copies there last night for $100. These had interviews with PJ and Shirley which the regular one will not have. I'm guessing that the DVD will be somewhere in the $20-$25 neighborhood--but that is just a guess. Also, keep an eye out for it on PBS. They are working on getting it on there also.

It was a very festive evening and an important one for CROW. In the past, the Martha Stewart crew came to CROW to film for one day. CROW has also been featured on Animal Planet but this is probably by far the most important (in my humble opinion) film done about CROW.

Wordless Wednesday-Red Leaf

Enjoy more Wordless Wednesdays at Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes for Mom

Also, I know you are all busy checking out everyone's Wordless Wednesday but take the time to bookmark me and drop back to check out my blog. I am a retired Special Ed teacher who now spends most of her time on Sanibel Island, Florida volunteering for a Wildlife hospital rescuing and rehabbing wildlife. I even dumpster dive for injured Raccoons!! I am also the proud grandma of 5 wonderful grandkids and brag about them often!! OK, enough about me. Back to Wordless Wednesday.

Happy Easter to All

This little bunny--actually a Marsh Rabbit--hopped out from under our deck one evening last year. I thought that this was an appropriate picture to wish each and everyone of you a very Happy Easter.