Suzanne’s First Award; Everybody Run - Here Comes Rudy! Dropping in on Mom; Saving a Turtle; Arsters and Knives

I was going through an old family album and found this postcard showing Suzanne as a child with her very first award. I particularly liked the helmet with the spike. It matches the sash and petticoats perfectly. Now I know how she won all those Navy Expert Marksman awards... er, sorry, Markswoman... uh-oh... 

Okay, Suzanne asked me to explain that it isn't really her holding the rifle. It's actually an historic postcard sent to her by someone in Rochester where the J. & P. Coats Thread Co. had a factory. She is too young to have known about Coats Thread, but my mother was a seamstress, so I knew the brand.

Here’s our lanai’s gecko sentry; over the past  few days there has been a sentry posted on a tall chair, watching the sliding glass door that Rudy uses to get to the lanai. The sentry has just sounded the alarm that Rudy the Gecko-Buster is getting ready to come outside. “Danger! Danger! All geckos run and hide!”

We dropped in on Ruthie, Suzanne’s mom, while on a bike ride. Most people think we followed Suzanne’s parents here to The Villages. Au contraire, we found our house in Mallory and Ruthie and Bill flew in a week later and bought their house in Duval. It’s great being only 3 ½ miles from her mom because Suzanne can drop in for a hug any time she wants (well, at least when Ruthie isn’t at one of her daily bridge matches; or her mahjong games; or the movies; or bowling.... oh, yeah, this is an active adult community!) It's also good to be close so Your Correspondent can grab a piece of cake or the occasional chocolate chip cookie; My Lovely Bride rations them in our house, but Ruthie's Bakery is usually good for a handout.

On that same bike ride, we came upon a turtle trying to cross a main road, and he wasn’t moving quickly enough to be safe. We stopped to pick him up and relocate him back to the pond where he lives. I think I heard our daughter Susan thanking us. She was always kind and considerate to people and animals alike, and would have been the first to stop and help an injured critter. Fortunately this guy wasn’t injured; he swam away like a rocket as soon as I placed him back in the water, none the worse for his experience. (Might be another synchronicity; this is the fourth turtle we've saved this way over the years since Susan passed.)

We had a delightful evening with our good friends Sharon and Joyce; they joined us at our house for sundowners, bringing delicious olives, a loaf of bread, a beautiful handmade plate, and homemade pesto (they know the way to my heart). 

Then we moved to a local establishment for oysters (or “arsters” as they are called in rural Maryland). It was a busy night there for the servers, and one of the other diners helped us clear and set up our table. The oysters were very good, but I wasn’t too sure about a couple of guys at the next table who were showing off their knives. I think their conversation went something like this: “My knife is bigger than your knife.”... “It might be bigger, but mine is sharper!” "Oh, yeah? Let's see if it can shave the hair off'n my arm!" "Hey, Josh, you got a first aid kit behind the bar?" (Talk about not growing up.) This was actually more of a biker bar than anything else, but it had character. We were gratified that Sharon's Lexus was still there in the parking lot after dinner, but I suspect that the high likelihood of the bar's patrons carrying knives, guns, clubs, chains, and tasers keeps any potential carjackers away....

What we didn't know was that Rudy and Gretchen had stowed away in the trunk of the car and were at the bar having BIG oysters on the half shell and Yuenglings while we were on the patio having the small ones. Joyce happened to catch them with her camera for this candid shot... boy, are they in trouble!

Exploding Table! Gretchen’s Match; Dictionary Geek; Turtle Camo; A Blythe Egret

One night just before leaving on our summer tour, we were having dinner on the lanai. It was a delightful evening, and we were enjoying our second bite of dinner when ka-boom! Our 48 inch diameter glass patio table top exploded into a zillion pieces, throwing glass shards into our laps and onto our feet (thankfully, Rudy and Gretchen were not in their usual places under the table). 

As it turned out, our only injuries were to my feet where glass shards nicked me. After researching the problem on line, it seems that tempered glass production is not an exact science; if it’s not done perfectly, the chemical bonds of the glass can come apart in a millisecond, usually a few years after production (ours was about 4 years old). There have been several thousand reports of exploding glass table tops, so please be careful. I replaced that glass table top with a sheet of ½ inch plywood cut into a circle and varnished. It was an easy job and it’s almost impossible to break (unless I sit on it).

Our Gretchen is normally a pretty shy little dog, except when she sees another black dog, particularly if it’s larger than she is. Then she becomes “Ten Pounds of Fighting Fury”.  I think she may have met her match in the back of this golf cart... those handsome shepherds must go around 125 lbs each. And these are NOT “shrinking violets”. I think they were considering having me for lunch!  

Suzanne considers me a bit of a geek because I read the dictionary as a kid and still look for words I don’t know (yes, there are quite a few). But since we don’t watch TV, there’s time every day to close my eyes and pick out a word at random to learn, and if I already know the one I’ve picked, then I pick another. Our Word of the Day is “muscovado”, “noun, a raw or unrefined sugar made by evaporating the molasses from sugar-cane juice; early 17^th C. From Portuguese mascabado ‘made badly’, referring to the quality of refinement”. This is one of those synchronicities that Suzanne often refers to; I haven’t seen, heard, or used the word “molasses” for decades, but just used it in a recipe yesterday... how strange is that? By the way, My Lovely Wife bought the cherry stand for my big dictionary as an “I Love You” gift (no special occasion) last year. 

Suzanne, being a bit younger than I, also has better peepers than Your Correspondent. She picked out this camouflaged turtle the other day in a pile of leaves that I had just walked by. 

Okay, I know that an English teacher or librarian somewhere is going to look at the title of today’s blog and jump out of her chair shouting “Ty misspelled ‘blithe’”, an adjective which means “cheerful and carefree”. Well, nah-nah-nah-nah-nah, I was referring to the snowy egret which was walking across our neighbors’ (the Blythes) front lawn! The snowy egret (Egretta thula) in question may indeed be cheerful and carefree, but at the moment he was captured “on film”, I suspect he was looking for a green frog breakfast. 

In closing, I have to relate a story told to us by Robert from Miami; he was driving on I-95 and a woman in another car started moving over into his lane. He moved left to avoid a collision, and the woman continued into his new lane as well. He blew his horn to attract her attention, and when the two cars came even with one another, the woman held out her cell phone, showing it to Robert, and shaking it, as if to say, “Can’t you see that I’m on the phone?” 

Almost a Hood Ornament; Lanai Work; A Tender Loin; The Gecko-Hunter; Flute Music; Moonrise

Today was an “interesting” day. I started with an easy 5 mile run, staying on the golf cart path from the house past our local Mallory golf course to the Hospice on Hwy 466. I assumed it would be safer than running on the road. Silly boy... As I was on the return leg, and about to turn into the tunnel that runs under Morse Blvd. by our Sweetbay grocery store, I heard a golf cart coming through the tunnel. No problem, he has a stop sign... well, the guy did slow down to about 10 mph as he blew through the stop sign, turning left onto the cart path as I was turning left into the tunnel. Fortunately, impact was light and momentary. Thanks to my extraordinarily quick reflexes and dancer-like agility, I was able to throw my hands onto his front windshield, and using my arms as shock absorbers, leapt into the air and pirouetted out of the way. If he had been going any faster, I’d have been a permanent hood ornament or gone under his cart. I tried to remember all of the love-centered, spiritual thoughts that Suzanne has taught me, but I’m afraid that my sailor side took over, and I wasn’t very polite to the cigar-smoking lout that had almost killed me.  He didn’t even apologize for almost ending my learning period in this dimension...

The day got better; I went to work cleaning our lanai (screened-in patio) with my power washer, a wonderful device that makes blasting five months worth of dirt and grime off the floor and horizontal screen frames almost easy, except for the stiff neck from leaning over looking at what you’re doing so you don’t power-wash your bare toes with 1,500 psi high pressure water. That’s a potentially very serious “Ouchie!” My Lovely Bride got a photo of me actually working for a change. I couldn’t go fishing because my reputation for unsuccessful angling has gotten around, and even the fish are laughing at me these days. Sigh. 

Suzanne had flute practice tonight, so I thought I’d help her out by making dinner. She passed on my suggested menu of nachos, kielbasa, and beer, so I went to Publix and got one of those fancy gourmet recipe cards for pork tenderloin with brie and pecan molasses. (The only confusing part was why one needed Kosher salt for pork tenderloin...) They make it very easy for guys, with all of the ingredients right there in one spot by the lady who tosses together gourmet meals in 30 seconds or less. It took me a bit longer, but Suzanne seemed pretty impressed with the quality of the meal. I think I earned “Big Points” tonight. (Maybe that new fishing rod isn’t totally out of the question...)  

Since returning from our trip last week, Rudy has been chasing geckos on the lanai; Gretchen runs out there and simply patrols; after one circuit, she finds a comfortable spot and watches Rudy exercising his instincts. She’s not into the gecko-hunter mode that Rudy displays.

Here is Rudy looking for a gecko that just jumped into a bush and vanished. It’s a good thing our auto insurance isn’t with Geico; our insurance might be cancelled for Rudy’s toll on the gecko population. The score is now Rudy 3, Geckos 0.  

I thought I’d catch a photo of Suzanne’s flute choir practice for the blog. There was some very pleasant music coming the Hibiscus Room of Allamanda Recreation Center when I poked my head in and took a few quick photos. These ladies are all serious musicians from a variety of professions; one even used to pack a machine gun for the government. They perform on C flutes, alto flutes, and bass flutes. (I had once heard a non-musician announcer pronounce "bass" like the fish instead of like "base".) The flute choir’s next performance is at the Church on the Square in Spanish Springs in The Villages on December 11 at 6:00 PM.

On the way home, we were driving down Buena Vista Blvd. when I said to Suzanne, “Hey, look at that moonrise!” She looked up quickly and said, “Wow! Cool!”... and then in a few seconds, after focusing on the object in question, she said, “You know, it’s not nice to trick your wife like that!”. Uh-oh... I’ve done it again...   

By the way, popular demand for Ty's Famous Chicken Enchilada recipe has forced us to disclose this previously Top Secret formula and procedure. Click here.

A Chariot Racer? Angelic Voices; Hey, You’re Blocking My View! Riding Carbon!

Okay, it’s time to pick on lawyers... We had dinner Saturday night with Suzanne’s mom Ruthie and our Villages friend Gail (“The Lawyer”), and her friends Rosalyn and Robert from Miami. Gail revealed (and not after copious quantities of wine, as she does not imbibe) that she had had a past life regression during which she was told that she had once been a chariot driver in Rome’s Coliseum back 2,000 years ago. When Suzanne mentioned that during a reading she gave to Gail, Gail's mother had indeed commented on Gail’s lead foot while driving, I imagined the following, and described it to the group... “Okay Gail, here’s the scenario... you’re driving down I-75, doing way over the speed limit in your hot rod, and the Florida Highway Patrol pulls you over..." “Ma’am, you were doing 95 in a 70 mph zone; what do you have to say?” “Well, officer, it’s perfectly understandable, I was a chariot racer in ancient Rome, and I couldn’t help it.” “Yes, ma’am, I understand how that might be an issue. If you would you please give me the name and telephone number of your chariot instructor, we’ll have him attend your hearing. Now, if you will please step out of your car, put your hands behind your back, I’ll place these nice bracelets on you and give you a very slow automobile ride to the station and you can call a lawyer.” “But I AM a lawyer.” “Yes ma’am, well that makes it all very clear.”

Robert and Rosalyn were also brilliant and interesting people, and great fun in spite of their advanced educations. Robert is a mathematics PhD who specializes in international economics and Rosalyn is a clinical psychologist PhD who includes hypnosis in her therapy. Rosalyn is especially fun, and you would never know that she’s a shrink. My Lovely Bride suggested that I might find her hypnosis techniques useful in resolving some of my personality disorders; I asked her, “What the heck does that mean?” “Oh, never mind... here’s our food, anyway.” Sometimes the woman truly confounds me....

After dinner we headed for the Savannah Center for a concert by Fernando Varela. He is a local central Florida singer who sang at the Church on the Square before he was discovered and helped in his career by several local folks, including Suzanne’s great friend Lynn Walker. At one point, Fernando was studying at an unnamed Florida university when one of his profs stated, “Sorry, but singing is not in your future; you’d better try something else...” (This guy had better not be picking stocks for himself...). Fernando ignored his advice, worked hard and practiced a lot, and was recognized and helped by David Foster. He has just finished a world tour, and came back to The Villages for four concerts. 

It was a truly remarkable performance. Fernando is a tenor in the mold of Josh Groban and Andrea Boccelli. Not only was Fernando spectacular, but his musicians and backup singers were top-drawer performers as well. But the crème de la crème of the evening came at the end when Fernando sang two duets with his wife Susan. Normally you might expect a star’s wife to be an adequate performer, but when this beautiful young woman sang, she truly had the voice of an angel. It was a fantastic end to a stellar performance.

We awoke this morning and I took our puppies out for their morning constitutional. What took my breath away was this enormous object blocking the view of the mountains from our front yard. Our friends and neighbors Bob and Jan Blythe had parked their new bus in front of their house. I thought about calling the Neighborhood Watch to complain, but decided that keeping good relations with the Blythes was the gentlemanly thing to do. (Actually, I thought I might need to borrow his hedge clippers again...) Here are the new RV’ers showing off their palace on wheels to some friends. 

Suzanne has been wanting to go for a long bike ride on her carbon fiber Look road bike, but her chain and rear gears (called a cassette) needed replacement. She had dropped her bike off at Village Cycles, where Mark and his expert tech Jim completed the repairs. Here she is holding her 17 lb bike up with one finger. As a comparison, her mountain bike weighs almost 30 lbs. We then went out for a quick 22 mile ride (she was pressed for time) at 17 mph, not too bad for a girl. Smack.... “Geez, Suzanne, but you are a girl...” Smacked again... sigh... 

Mickey x 700; Short Skirts and Pompoms; A Great Welcome Home Party!

One of the things we have learned over the years of Rudy and Gretchen owning us and taking us for walks is that they are frequently the key to meeting nice and interesting people. I say “nice” because nice people will stop and admire our little “eternal puppies”; “not so nice” people will walk by with frowns, as if dogs shouldn’t be in public places. Fortunately this latter sub-species is not so common here in The Villages. 

Just yesterday we were walking in Spanish Springs and met a couple that stopped to pet Rudy and Gretchen. Dale and Betsy Nelson are two of the few residents we’ve met who actually moved north to The Villages. They had lived in south Florida, then Orlando, before finally moving to Florida’s Friendliest Home Town. Dale was in law enforcement, and Betsy was a prosecutor, my favorite type of lawyer. (Because of her background, I respectfully withheld any lawyer jokes I had been considering.) We talked about this being a Disney-like area, and Betsy floored us by mentioning that they had been to Disney over 700 times; yes, that was no typo, “seven hundred”. (Suzanne and I noted the similarity with the 70 times that a couple from Finland had visited the Grand Ole Opry when we were recently in Nashville). Dale and Betsy had once lived only 2 miles from Disney, so it was like our driving down to Sumter Landing for an hour or two. Needless to say, they are devoted Mickey Fans! They also had a sense of humor and joie de vivre that isn’t as common as it should be. I sensed another couple, like Suzanne and me, that haven't really ever "grown up". They showed us their annual passes and convinced us that we needed to go back to Disney World; neither of us has been to the Magic Kingdom since the 1970’s. 

While walking in the square, we saw The Villages Cheerleaders getting ready to practice for their Columbus Day performance on Monday at 5:00 PM in Spanish Springs. It was getting hot and humid, but they were a lively group, laughing and joking before getting serious about their practice. (I was reminded of a couple of dates I had with one particularly winsome cheerleader back in college... well, I'd better not go there... after all, this is a G-rated blog, and God forbid she might be one of my readers!) Smack! ...

Friday night was a very touching event, a Welcome Home Party for the Messages of Hope Tour, in Lake Miona Recreation Center’s ballroom. Bev Garlipp, Ann Lavelle, Frances Rolph, Tony and Terry Kawas, and other volunteers spent many hours planning, getting the word out, and setting up the room for the 135 wonderful attendees.

There were munchies and nibblies galore. I don't think anyone left hungry... Looks like our friend Gloria is about to decimate the shrimp plate.  "Hey, leave some for me!"

They even ordered a huge (and very yummy) cake that fed everyone there. 

Suzanne and I greeted everyone as they entered, and after a pot luck dinner, Suzanne gave a terrific presentation on our five month, 10,400 mile Messages of Hope book and documentary movie tour. The most touching moments were when she described some of her readings, including those for two mothers who had each lost a young son. 

She also described each of our stops, the rest and relaxation (R&R) stops as well as the working stops, and the wonderful people we met along the way. My Lovely Bride was even funny at times (mostly at her poor husband’s expense, like when she mentioned that in spite of Herculean efforts, I hadn’t caught a single decent-sized fish all summer... really, now, is nothing sacred?). To make matters worse, she coined a new name for me... The Chipmunk Whisperer... 

There were a couple of folks who were interested in asking me some RV questions that I never got to meet with, so if you'd still like to chat, please contact me at my ftgiesemann@aol.com email address.

Suzanne ended with a brief description of her newest book, The Real Alzheimer's, which was just published on her birthday, August 1. 

Both before and after the party, The Bus was open for visitors to take a look at what 21st century roughing it is really like. 

When we came back to The Bus at the end of the party, we found this group of ne'er-do-wells continuing the party without us...  "Hey, Suzanne, where's your wine?"

Everyone was hoping that Rudy and Gretchen would be in The Bus, but they had to stay at home tonight. It was Rudy's poker night with all his friends, and Gretchen was worried that he might leave cigars lying around, so she was going to act as house mother. 

To the party organizers, we are deeply appreciative of your efforts. To all who came last night, many thanks for taking the time from your busy schedules to be with us, and for your friendship and welcoming smiles. It’s great to be home in The Villages for the winter. To those in our “ports of call” during our summer tour, many of whom Suzanne recognized last night, thanks for your hospitality to us tumbleweeds who rolled in for a few days and then rolled away. It was an amazing trip, and like every journey, it’s the people you meet and new friends you make along the way that make it all worthwhile. We have some amazing memories, thanks to each and every one of you.  

Brutal Heat; Meeting Nancy Lopez; Hostel or Hostile? No Margarita for Ty! Free Golf Balls and A Screen Test

You folks who have lived through (endured) the past Florida summer have my admiration (and my sympathy). A couple of weeks ago, we checked the weather report for The Villages and saw a high of 74F. I made the assumption (remember what “assume” means?) that the summer was transitioning to pleasant fall temperatures and low humidity. Funny how dumb you feel when you go out for a six mile run and it’s harder than a 13 miler in upstate New York. I was nearing heat exhaustion when I finished, and had lost 2 lbs in sweat. (As an aside, Wonder Woman is out in our sweltering garage right now lifting weights, but she doesn’t “sweat”... she “glistens”... that’s much more ladylike, don’t you think?) 

Today I decided to splurge with the remainder of our savings from cleaning The Bus ourselves, so we went to Chick-fil-A for chicken sandwiches and a milkshake. To our surprise, inside was a table set up for a charity called Adventures in Movement (AIM) for the Handicapped, and there was golf legend Nancy Lopez, greeting people and encouraging donations to AIM, her favorite charity. We agreed to help, and you will find one of their donation cans at each of Suzanne’s events this year. As “Dr. Jo” Geiger, AIM’s National Director reminded us, "Folded bills are much lighter and less noisy than coins!" Nancy will be hosting the 32^nd AIM/Nancy Lopez Golf Tournament here in The Villages 6-7 October. For more info on AIM, see aimforthehandicapped.org.

We are planning a short winter trip back out to Colorado, and I thought I’d look into reasonable lodging for a few days; you know, something cozy, unique, lively, maybe where we could meet some interesting people, like college girls (AKA “eye candy”) on winter break. Suzanne asked where I was looking, and I said that it would fun to stay in a youth hostel. There was a pause, and My Loving Wife replied, “If it’s a hostel, you’re going to have a hostile wife...” (Whoops, maybe I’d better re-think our accommodations...) “Yes, Dear... I think there is an AARP-recommended hotel nearby...”

As I have mentioned, Suzanne’s mom Ruthie is A Doll, and likes to cook for me. I occasionally reciprocate, so the other night I met Ruthie at the door with a margarita in hand. Sadly, My Lovely Bride does not allow me to drink tequila any more, following a memorable incident when we were first married. The details are a bit hazy, at least to me, but we had a couple of margaritas at dinner while moving into our first house, and I was later found in a cardboard wardrobe box in the bedroom... So what's her point?

Ty’s Famous Chicken Enchiladas were on the menu, so I set to work preparing that Gastronomic Delight. Also joining us for dinner was Elizabeth Magee, our good friend from across the golf course and Suzanne’s spiritual sister. Elizabeth told us about her recent trip to China, Tibet, and Cambodia; Joseph was still recovering from jet lag, so couldn’t join us that evening. (I hope he wasn’t offended by my ambulance-chaser comment in a recent blog... he is a retired lawyer.) It was a fun evening. 

We were fortunate to find a house located on a golf course when we moved to The Villages five years ago. It is located at about 200 yards from the white tees on Amelia #2, one of the championship courses in The Villages. I had never played golf when we moved here, and thought how neat an experience living right next to the fairway would be. Also, one of the advantages of living on a golf course are the free golf balls, right? I must have been out of my mind that day. These four balls that we found in our lanai and yard yesterday would normally cost about, what, maybe $6 to $8 total? Pretty good deal, free golf balls, right? 

Well, it may be until you add up repairs for one broken window and four lanai screens (yes, of course they are all on the top where I can’t reach, so DIY won't work). Did you know that lanai screens are not designed to repel golf balls traveling at a terminal velocity of 150 feet per second? A conservative estimate of $600.00 in repairs make these golf balls ring in at $150.00 each. I will be more than happy to return them to their owners, but plan on bringing your checkbooks or a wad of twenties when you stop by. 

Yes, I know, I know.... I chose to live here. But that doesn't make it any easier when it comes time to fix screens and windows!

Well, Hello There! A Good Hair Day; Jane Jetson; Clothes or a Fishing Rod?

Howdy! as they say in Texas. I'm glad you're reading this new blog post, because otherwise I'd have to be pulling weeds in our overgrown garden, so please stay with me. Just in case you were looking for something more high brow and sophisticated, this is actually the opening post of Life As Ty Sees It. It is a follow-on to the Messages of Hope Tour blog, which you can find at www.messagesofhopetour.blogspot.com.

As many of you are already aware, My Lovely Wife Suzanne and I just returned from a 5 month, 10,400 mile trip around the US and Canada in our 2003 American Eagle motor coach, otherwise known as The Bus. Accompanying us were our two guard/attack dogs, Rudy and Gretchen. Lest you think that two miniature dachshunds are no match for intruders, muggers, or ax murderers, I'll have you know that they kept us safe throughout our long journey. Rudy directs their defensive maneuvers, and Gretchen, AKA "Ten Pounds of Fighting Fury", is the lead attack dog. Rudy mops up what's left. (Sort of like a small pride of lions; the gals do the hunting/protecting, the guys sit back, look cool, and wait to be called to dinner.) These were their mug shots after being arrested for beating up on a pit bull (This wonderful photo is courtesy of Pam Smedley).

Having just returned from some small towns and big cities with unproven hair salons, Suzanne was ready for an hour or two with her regular stylist, Judy Brushingham. As she sat down in the chair, she mentioned to Judy that she should just fix it without cutting too much off; Judy replied, "I can't make your hair look any worse than it is now..." OUCH! Fortunately, Judy is very talented, and Suzanne is feeling much better about being seen in public now.

Tuesday was clean-up day aboard The Bus. Five months on the road takes its toll, and she needed a good cleaning from stem to stern. (That's Navy talk, for you landlubbers.) We had actually tried to find someone who could detail The Bus for us, and a national company (which shall go unnamed, but whose initials are Dazzling Detailing) said they could do the job and would call us right back... but, we never heard back from the scheduler. Soooo, My Lovely Bride said, "Okay, sailor, time to get to work. Get your lazy butt out of the sack." (Suzanne can be a tough taskmaster at times.Okay, she wasn't quite so blunt...) So we spent the entire day prettifying The Bus inside and out. Here's Suzanne with her Jane Jetson backpack, about to take off.

I thought I had the easy part, getting a nice suntan while using a long-handled scrubber. But there was a surprise or two to come... "Sweetheart, would you mind doing the toilet and the fridge?" I knew she had just had her nails done, so I did the manly thing. (Right, I tried to hire these jobs out... but no one else wanted them, so I bit the bullet and did them myself. Sigh...)

After we finished cleaning The Bus, Suzanne said, "Hey, with the money you just saved, you can take me out for sushi." Well, that's a good deal, I said to myself. She can't possibly eat $300 worth of fish, unless it's an entire tuna! So off we go to our favorite sushi restaurant outside of Japan, VKI Japanese Restaurant in Sumter Landing, only two miles from the house. Here is Suzanne receiving our Standard Sushi Plate, Mark 1 Mod 0. I call it that because we always order the same thing: gyoza, spicy tuna roll, California roll, and five orders of nigiri sushi. When the staff at VKI sees us walk in, our order is already on its way to the kitchen.

After dinner, I commented that I had gotten off pretty easy, price-wise, since she hardly made a dent in the $300 we had saved. (I was thinking that maybe a new fishing rod could make up the difference.) She replied, "Oh, well, I was sort of thinking that maybe I could stop in at the boutique... I've been wearing the same clothes all summer...." (I thought to myself, Well, I've been using the same fishing rod all summer... but I thought better of expressing my inner thoughts on this issue. My Momma didn't raise no fool!) In any case, she went shopping and I took Rudy and Gretchen for a sunset stroll. It was a good decision. The setting sun was lighting up the bands of clouds in beautiful red and gold waves, proving at least to me that nature is as creative an artist as any human being.