The Newest Member of the Family

For quite a while now I've been promising Island Girl that we would get her a cat - and today we did.

He doesn't have a name yet but after we watch him for a little while I'm sure his name will come.



We introduced him to Buddy the Beagle and he did NOT like Buddy at all.



He backed up as far as he could and then kept hissing at him until we put Buddy in the other room. I'm sure they'll come to some kind of understanding once the cat is a little bigger LOL

A Rose For Me

When I woke up this morning the first thing I saw was this sitting on my beside table with a sweet I Love You note.



Isn't that sweet? And he wasn't even in trouble - which is when I usually get flowers LOL

And not to be outdone, the Youngest Island Boy drew a picture of me and left it with the flower.

It's nice to be loved!

Plumbing Update

My plumbing woes are over!! Hooray!!!

The Island King got up this morning and decided that we didn't need to call a plumber and that he could handle this himself.

"My grandfather was a plumber" he tells me so he "should be able to fix it himself".

"My BIL is a gastroenterologist but that doesn't mean I know how to fix butts" I tell him.

He ignored me and off he went to Home Depot to rent an electric snake. I warned him that it was Friday and that if he couldn't fix it I was calling a plumber and I don't know what they charge for working on a Friday night but that I was having this problem fixed - today!

He came home with the electric snake and after half an hour of wrestling it into the pipes he declared the pipe clear.

"How are we going to know?" I ask.

He tells me that we're going to put the hose down the washing machine pipe and if water comes spewing out of the sink like it did last night then the clog is still there. If it doesn't the clog must be gone.

So we did and not a drop came out of the sink pipe.

Next, he reconnected the piped under the sink and turned the faucet on.

And it drained!!!

It's amazing how excited a person can get over a sink that drains LOL

So now I'm washing towels and cooking dinner and once again all is right with the world.

Plumbing Woes

My kitchen sink clogged up earlier this week. I used some Drano and that seemed to work.

Until 6:00 last night when I went in to start dinner.

As soon as I turned the faucet on, the sink would back up so it seemed obvious that the P-trap just under the sink must be clogged. Seemed simple enough to me - take the P-trap off, clean it out and then put it back.

I should have known that it wouldn't be that simple.

I took the stuff I have stored under that side of the sink out, got some towels and a bucket and then called the Island King in. He took the P-trap off and it wasn't clogged. He took the pipe leading from the garbage disposal off and it wasn't clogged either. Neither was the pipe going into the wall.

Like I said, nothing is ever simple here.

He stood there scratching his head for a minute and then decided to use the garden hose with a plumber's bladder on it to blow out the pipe going into the wall.

It sounded like a good idea at the time.

As soon as he put the hose into the wall and turned the water on, a geyser of the blackest, foulest smelling, chunk filled water blew the washing machine drain hose out of the pipe it drains into and that nasty water spewed ALL OVER THE LAUNDRY ROOM.

The smell was horrendous. And filled the entire front of the house.

The kids ran around opening doors and windows and the Island King took one look at the mess, went flying out the garage door and threw up all over the yard.

Good grief.

But... we must have cleared the clog, right? So he put the sink back together, turned on the faucet and expected the water to drain.

It didn't. The sink was still clogged.

After scratching his head for a minute he decided to put the hose into the pipe the washer drains into, leave the pipes off under the sink and let the water blow out into a bucket. All of this in hopes that whatever was clogging the pipe would come shooting out into the bucket.

It sounded like a good plan to me.

So he held a bucket in front of the pipe under the sink and I put the hose into the washer's drain pipe and turned it on.

I guess he underestimated the force that the water would have coming out of the pipe because it blew the bucket out of his hand and that same black, disgusting water came flying out of the pipe, covering him in black goo. And before I could get the hose turned off it covered everything else under the cabinet, the floor and most of the kitchen.

He screamed and ran outside, throwing up and trying to get his clothes off at the same time.

I can't imagine what the neighbors must have thought when they saw him throwing up and stripping in the driveway at the same time.

And I know they saw him because he was yelling and cussing at the top of his lungs.

It would have been funny if it hadn't been so damn nasty. And if I weren't going to have to clean it all up.

At least we've determined that the pipes running between the sink and the washing machine aren't clogged.

But that means that the pipe in the wall - or God forbid - under the slab is clogged.

And it's now 7:30 at night. There is black sludge covering everything in the laundry room and most of the kitchen and I'm positive that no dinner will be cooked here tonight.

"I'm going to take a shower and then go to McDonalds to get dinner. We'll have to figure this out tomorrow" the Island King tells me.

He headed for the shower and then came back down the hall - cussing some more.

It turns out that every time the water blew all over the place and we yelled for the kids to bring us more towels - we'd used EVERY SINGLE towel we own. Every one of them were laying in the kitchen and laundry room covered in black goo water.

I wish you could have seen the look on his face when I handed him a bathcloth and told him this was all he had to dry off with.

I'm calling a plumber first thing tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers that he can come early because we're almost out of bathcloths and if the Island King has to dry off with paper towels after his next shower I'm not sure what will happen LOL

Frank's Fishing Show

This guy cracks me up

Uncle Kris Day

Uncle Kris didn't want a traditional funeral and so, following his wishes, we had a 'Celebrate Kris' day instead.

We gathered at my MIL's house and visited a little


while the kids played in the driveway.




We ate turkey and dressing, collard greens and potato salad and LOTS of pie.




I really like this picture because it captures the million things that are always going on at once.
My niece has her purse - she's like a little old lady, always wandering around with that purse on her arm. My BIL is in the back of the picture showing his toy drill to my FIL and warning him that he'll use it if he has to.
The Youngest Island Boy freaks out when someone points a camera at him and he's "not ready" while his cousin, who wants to be in every picture, popped up behind him LOL



After dinner it was time for our family poker game. We started with a toast to Kris. We were afraid that would be really sad but someone told a funny story and we were able to toast him and laugh - which is exactly what he'd have wanted.



And then the games began.





The Island King thought he had a winning hand so he slipped on his shades to help with his poker face LOL And notice my BIL's toy drill on the table? He was determined to protect his little pile of change LOL



Kris's dog Scrappy joined us for a hand.



Uncle R is a very cautious player and he studied his cards long and hard before throwing some money in the pot.



This particular hand was a 7 card stud game with a lot of wild cards and Uncle R was sure he had a winner. He bet big every round and we could see the confidence growing on his face. One by one the rest of us folded but the Island King kept matching Uncle R bet for bet.

The pot grew and so did the smile on Uncle R's face.

Then came the moment of truth. Uncle R proudly spread his royal straight flush out on the table, looked at the Island King and said "Beat that".

And the Island King laid his 5 queens down and said "Ok"

Poor Uncle R! The look on his face was priceless. He never even considered that anyone would have 5 of a kind.

That's the problem with having so many wild cards LOL

What were the kids doing while we played?

A little of this.



And a little of that.



And the Island Girl tried to do some of this



But that didn't last long. See her brother standing behind the couch? Right after this picture was taken he threw a stuffed mouse on her and she came off that couch like a rocket LOL

We had a good time but under it all we were a little sad. It'll take time to get used to the idea that Kris is gone.

We miss you Kris.

Divorce Flyers?

When I checked the mail today there was an envelope from the North Florida Safety Council addressed to the Island King.

I open all of the mail that looks like business or commercial stuff and leave personal mail on the Island King's desk for him to open. This didn't look personal to me so I opened it along with the other mail.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this.



A flyer for divorcing parents. Hmm.

He was sitting across from me so I said "Is there something you want to tell me?" and showed him the flyer.

He was as surprised as I was and then assured me that he wasn't secretly trying to divorce me.

It didn't take a lot to reassure me - I'm pretty sure I'd know if he were filing for divorce LOL

The envelope was stuffed with about 200 of these flyers.
Are we supposed to put these out somewhere?
What kind of mailing list is he on now?

The next day he called the NFSC and they say his name is on a list of people who have signed up to pass out these kind of info flyers. He told the woman that he was pretty sure he hadn't signed up for that LOL

Later that evening, after the kids complained about homework, fought, and broke a bowl with the ball they aren't supposed to have in the house, I reminded him that if he does divorce me we won't need to take those parenting classes anyway.

He's taking the kids and I'm sailing away to the Bahamas on a yacht with some nice, handsome boat captain.

Revenge could be so sweet LOL

Pelican's Don't Like To Share

As my BIL was cleaning his Cobia the other day, he began to attract a crowd - of pelicans.





They sat, watching and waiting patiently



Until this one separated himself from the crowd and came forward



And then squawked something in Pelicanese. We're not sure exactly what he said but we think it was something along the lines of "Hey man, are you gonna share or what?"



So he tossed them something tasty





Apparently pelicans don't share well because things got ugly after that



They're beautiful birds but their table manners need some work LOL

They Look So Sweet

As soon as school was over on Friday we headed for the beach.

The kids were sitting along the edge of the water building sandcastles and they looked so sweet sitting there.



You'd never know that at the moment I snapped this picture the Oldest Island Boy called his sister a butthead, she called him a creepy little pest and the Youngest said "You're both buttheads so shut up"

Like I said, they looked sweet LOL

He Caught A Big One

My BIL went Cobia fishing again on Friday and this time he caught the big one. The Island King had work to do so BIL went alone and don't you know that's the day he pulled in a HUGE Cobia.

The Island King met him at the dock and told him to hold it up so he could get a picture of it.

That was easier said than done LOL





Maybe we should hang him up...


Much better.

This is a huge fish! 73.6 pounds - 53 inches long. Really big.

Ever wonder what a big Cobia has for lunch?


An octopus


And 4 stingrays

Wonder what Sandcastle Momma had for dinner?


The food chain is an amazing thing LOL

I felt kind of sorry for the big guy.



But then he showed up here and I didn't feel so bad.


Thanks Sandman, we enjoyed the fish!

Sunset In The Destin Harbor

After the kayak rescue fiasco the other day the Island King called and invited Island Girl and I on a sunset boat ride.

And I NEVER turn down a boat ride.



Sunset is a busy time in the harbor, the tour boats load up for sunset cruises, charter boats are returning from an afternoon of fishing and the restaurants are filled with people enjoying fresh seafood.







These pictures can't even begin to show how huge that sun was! It was an incredible sunset and I'm looking forward to many more sunset harbor cruises.

Cobia Fishing And A Rescue

It's Cobia season and my husband and BIL have been bitten by the fishing bug so Tuesday night they planned a trip for Wednesday.

The boys heard them talking about it and wanted to go too.

They've been in and around boats their entire lives but have never been old enough to go "fishing in the Gulf with the men" and were beyond excited when the Island King told them they could go.

Then, he sat them down for The Talk.

"There are two things you need to know" he told them.

"Number one - we are not coming back until we're ready to come back. If you get bored, sea sick or scared you have to suck it up and deal with it because we are NOT bringing you back to the dock until the mission is over."

"Number two - if you cry, whine or complain you will not be invited to go again."

It was so funny listening to him tell them that because I remember the first time I got to go with my dad on a "men fishing in the Gulf" trip and I swear he gave me the EXACT same speech LOL

Both boys agreed to the terms and could barely sleep they were so excited.

Wednesday morning they loaded the boat and set out, determined to bring home the biggest Cobia in the Gulf.



A few hours later the phone rang and when I heard the Island King's voice I just knew he was calling so the boys could tell me they'd just caught the 'big one'.

Wrong.

"We're broke down and need your help" he says. "Put the kayak in the van, go to the parts place and pick up a part for us, then bring the kayak to June Decker park and paddle the part out to us because we're anchored off the 2nd sandbar. And the anchor is dragging so you need to hurry."

What?

I told him that it was rude of him to call and mess with me on my day off and started to hang up. "Don't hang up!" he yelled and then repeated his story, telling me that he wasn't kidding.

Why don't they just call Sea Tow or the Coast Guard? Good grief.

I guess I'm going kayaking.

So I went out to load the kayak into the van. The kayak that we haven't used in 2 years. The kayak that doesn't really fit in my van and that we strap to the rack on the Island King's truck.

As soon as I tried to pick the kayak up I knew there was a problem. I could hear water inside the hull and it was so heavy I couldn't pick it up. This is not good. I'm going to have to park in a parking lot and then drag this thing all the way down to the beach?

And since it's obviously full of water will it even float?

I drag the kayak to the van and decide that I'll figure out how to get it to the beach when I get there.

I drove to the parts place to pick up the part they had waiting for me and as I started back to my van I saw my FIL. He works for my BIL and was in the truck they use to empty the trash cans on the beach. The truck with the permit to drive on the beach. Perfect!

He was with another guy, Brian, who also works for my BIL and when I told them the story Brian jumped all over the chance to kayak the part out.

Things were looking better by the minute.

They put the kayak in the back of the truck and then we all climbed in the front and headed for the beach.

It's spring break time and the beach was packed. People were shoulder to shoulder from the dune line to the water and I realized there was no way I'd have been able to get that kayak from the parking lot to the water without help. Thank goodness we were in the truck and were able to drive right to the edge of the water.

I'd double bagged the part in ziplock bags and once the kayak was in the water, Brian took the part and got in.

And promptly rolled over like a barrel. Which caused my FIL and I, along with several people on the beach to snicker a little.

Brian stood up and tried again. And again, rolled completely over.

More snickering.

He tried again - and again - and again, rolling over every single time.

By now everyone on the beach is laughing pretty hard but Brian just kept trying over and over again. I stopped counting the 12th time he rolled. I would have paid good money for a video camera at that moment because it was hysterical.

Two guys standing nearby felt sorry for him and held each side of the kayak while Brian got in but as soon as they let go he rolled again.

At one point I heard a woman behind me say "If he rolls again I'm going to wet my pants!" LOL

While this is going on, the Island King is anchored just off the 2nd sandbar and has been watching the whole thing with his binoculars. He called my FIL's phone and said that they were laughing too hard and just couldn't take it anymore and would I please get in the kayak and bring them the part.

They want me to do it? Now that every single person on the beach is watching?

And by now I've figured out that the water trapped in the hull is probably what's making the kayak roll and I know that I won't have any more luck than Brian is having.

Which means that the laughing on the beach will turn to full on howling when I try it and have the same problem.

Just as I resigned myself to the emabarrassment that I knew was going to follow I saw another boat approach my BIL's boat. And the phone rang.

The other boat turned out to be a neighbor of ours and he agreed to come right up to the sandbar to get the part.

Yes! Swimming the part out to him would be no trouble and I'b be spared the humiliation of having to get in the rolling kayak.

We told Brian the plan and he said "I'll swim it out to them, I'm already wet and I swim like a fish"

Great.

We beached the kayak and Brian waded into the surf - which was just small, gentle swells.

There were lots of people in the water and they were all standing up with no problem but Brian started flailing a little and I realized that man can't swim!

My FIL realized the same thing and said "He says he can swim like a fish but I want to know what kind of fish that is!" LOL

I waded into the water and as I got close to him I realized that he should be able to stand up. "Put your feet down - stand up!" I yell to him.

And he did. And then he wasn't drowning anymore. And even though I know I shouldn't have, I laughed so hard I cried.

I guess Brian sorta snapped after that because he threw the part as far as he could in the direction of the waiting boat, waded back to the beach, kicked the kayak, climbed in the truck and slammed the door.

Poor guy. His day was going fine until I showed up LOL

Meanwhile, the part is floating halfway between me and the boat but the current is carrying it down the beach, not out towards the boat.

The guy in the waiting boat took his fishing rod and started casting out towards the bag until he snagged it. He reeled it in and finally, after ALL of that, the part made it out to the my BIL.

On the drive back to my van we stopped at the store and I bought Brian a beer. I felt like it was the least I could do LOL

Although, when he said "Man it was rough out there, it wasn't like basic training at all because in basic training I could hold onto the edge of the pool"
I laughed so hard that I snorted a mouthful of Pepsi through my nose.
Rude but unavoidable.

They got the boat fixed and fished the rest of the day but didn't catch anything.

And the boys were so good they've been invited to go again next time.

Dogs versus Cats

I've always been a cat lover. Cats are smart and self reliant and as far as I'm concerned they make much better pets than dogs.

My husband and sons disagree with me. They're dog people.

Yesterday, I was sitting outside watching the Island King and the Oldest Island Boy give Buddy the Beagle a bath. The Oldest asked why cats never needed a bath and I explained to him that cats bathe themselves.

"You see, that's just more proof that cats are smarter than dogs. Dogs have to be bathed but cats are smart enough to bathe themselves" I told him.

The Oldest thought about that for a minute and then said "I don't think cats are any smarter than dogs - I think dogs are just uninformed"

Well, that's one way to look at it! LOL

What I've Learned About Organ Donation

When I decided to become an organ donor I had the lady at the DMV check that box on my DL and poof I was an organ donor. I assumed (that word always gets me in trouble) that if I died my organs would be harvested, all the information about them would be entered in a computer somewhere, a match would be found and they would be sent to the people who needed them. And hopefully those people would be able to continue living their lives.

That happens sometimes but there's a lot more to it than I ever dreamed.

The Island King was medical surrogate for his Uncle Kris and when he died we didn't really think about the organ donation part.

Until about 3 hours after Kris died and the Island King got a call from the tissue donation people. Kris wasn't a candidate for donating any of his major organs but there is more to it than that.

I was sitting there with him and listened to his side of the conversation with my mouth hanging open.

He said the lady was very nice and sympathetic but the deal is that after you die the hospital takes whatever organs can be used and then these tissue people take over from there.

And the tissue people are the skin, eyes and research people.

The first question the lady asked was if he wanted to donate his skin for burn patients. This prompted the Island King to ask exactly what that means. Do they take all of your skin? How many layers of skin? What will they do with it?

They take all 3 layers of the skin from the back, buttocks and thighs, she tells him, and they use it for skin grafts for burn patients.

Would Kris want that? We had no idea.

The next questions were about his eyes. She listed off each part of the eye and you have to agree to donate each part individually. Odd but true. She tells him that when you donate all of both eyes you are usually giving sight to 2 other people.

We agreed that Kris meant his eyes when he checked the organ donation box on his DL.
I usually think of the corneas when I think of the organs that can used and the Island King did too.

Next came bones. What bones? What will you do with those bones?
Some of the spinal vertebrae can be used to help people with spinal cord injuries and then other bones are used for anatomy classes.

You mean like hanging in the corner of a classroom? That's something I certainly never thought about.

Then there were questions about the liver. The Island King answered a few and then said "Wait, what do you mean for separate commercial use? Slices? Sold where?"

I absolutely couldn't wait for him to finish the call and explain that one to me.

He learned that the organs are used for study and research so they slice the organs up and sell slices to labs, research groups and schools. She told him that she had to use the word commercial because these places are actually buying them versus a live organ donation which is not "sold" but donated.

And if he donated these "commercial use" organs, he had to agree to sign a release that stated that if the cure for cancer or something is found because of the donation we are not eligible for any kind of monetary compensation.

They talked about the brain - same deal - slices.

The last thing they talked about was the heart. They sell those whole. You know those hearts in the jars in med schools - like that.

About then Island King kind of snapped. His uncle had just died, it was noon and he'd been up at the hospital since 11 the night before, and he never in a million years expected to be having this conversation.

He yelled "So what's going to be left? Is the funeral home going to be carting him out of there in a Wal-Mart bag? Will there be enough left to fill up a 5 gallon bucket?"

I swear I almost fell off the couch! Five days later and I still can't believe he said that LOL

After he got off the phone he told me that the woman was extremely nice and that she seemed kind of used to people freaking out on her. Which I guess is to be expected.

The hardest part about this phone call was the fact that we had no idea if Kris would want to be used for research. Not a clue.

The whole conversation was really an eye opening experience. We have living wills and we've spelled out very carefully what we want as far as life support, permanent care and that sort of thing but we've never talked about organ donation.

And we really didn't know how in-depth that conversation needed to be.

So one of the things I've learned this week is to be specific and write down what you want to happen when you die. Do you want to donate your whole body for research? Just your organs? No research at all? Maybe this organ but not that one? Don't want to hang in an anatomy class? Would love to hang there?

Write it down! Whoever handles the phone call from the tissue people will really appreciate it.

I'll Be Back

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and prayers. They really do mean a lot to us.

I'm going to take a break from blogging for the next week or so. I'll be keeping up with ya'll but probably won't have much time for commenting.

Spring is coming and I'm sure I'll be back soon with tales from the beach.

Thank you all again!

Rest In Peace Uncle Kris - We're Gonna Miss You

Kris Powell

1948-2009

It's a sad day here at our house. The Island King's uncle passed away this morning.

Kris was one of the most unique people I've ever met. Odd, quirky and even weird - all of which made him the man that we loved.

He was an excellent poker player and we spent countless hours playing 5 Card Stud and MacIntosh. I lost untold amounts of money to him and never minded a bit because we always had so much fun.

One particular poker night stands out in my mind. We'd been playing for a while and he kept saying that he thought something was "off". He started watching the cards real close and saying that he was sure the Island King was trying to cheat him. The Island King adamantly denied it but Kris was sure that something funny was going on.

A few minutes later Kris yelled "I knew it!" and showed us his hand. There were 3 jokers in it. We'd been playing all evening with 3 jokers LOL Somehow a joker from another deck of cards had gotten mixed in with the deck we were using and as you can imagine, an unknown 3rd joker will throw a kink into any poker game.

He knew we weren't trying to cheat him but from that night on he always showed up with a sealed deck and would tell people "You've gotta watch those 2, they'll slide an extra joker in the deck"

He would tell that story at every poker game and then laugh because even though there were 3 jokers that night he still cleaned us out LOL

Family poker games just won't be the same without him.

God speed, Big Kris - we'll miss you.

So Now He's A Nice Goose?

I took the Island King to the duck pond this afternoon, told him the geese seemed to really like the camera and that he needed to take some pictures of them.

As hard as it was, I was able to tell him this with a straight face and I was able to conceal the glee I was feeling at the thought of the goose chasing him. I know that sounds mean (and it might be) but we've been together for almost 21 years and sometimes I want to see a goose attack him LOL

We got to the duck pond and then fate struck a cruel blow.

The goose walked right up to him and then rubbed up against his leg like a cat.

WHAT?! That goose came after me today with blood in his eyes and now he's rubbing against the Island King's legs like the tamest of house cats.

Doesn't that figure?

I told the Island King what had happened to me earlier and he looked at me like I was crazy. Didn't believe a word I said.

Until a minute later when a man rode by on a bicycle and the goose took off after him, honking and carrying on like he did with me this morning.

As soon as the man got farther away the goose came back to us, honked once at me and then started rubbing up against the Island King again.

Disgusting. So now the man is some kind of goose charmer.

I was able to overcome my disappointment long enough to grab the cache and then we headed home again.

Just as we pulled into the driveway it dawned on him that the whole trip had been a setup and that I thought the goose was going to try and attack him. He looked at me, shook his head and said "You're an evil woman and God will get you for this - or that goose will the next time we walk by there!"

Oh well, it was worth a try.

Mean Goose Encounter

After spending a few months a little burnt out on geocaching I've once again caught the fever so we've spent some time recently finding park and grabs and exploring unknown parks in nearby towns.

I noticed a few days ago that someone has hidden a new cache at the duck pond, which is just around the corner from my house.



Up until recently there were several families of ducks living there but they haven't been around for a while so I think they may have headed South trying to escape the cold.

There are also lots of Terns, Gulls and other shorebirds that frequent the spot and it's not unusual to see a Great Blue Heron or two.







Oh, and the duck pond is also home to 3 Geese.



Doesn't he (or is that a she?) look sweet with those floppy orange feet?



Well, he's not.

He seems to have some sort of anger management problem because as soon as I walked towards him he got a little irate.



And then he got a lot irate. He started honking and throwing his head back and snapping his beak at me.

I wish I had a picture of him coming at me but to be honest I was busy backing up. Is he going to bite me? Will it hurt? Will I have to beat him off of me? And just what exactly is the proper procedure to follow when one is being chased by a goose? Should I run? Play dead? What the #%^**?

I backed WAY up and he finally turned around and started back to the others, still honking and snapping his beak.



And the geocache that I wanted to find? Well it's in the bushes behind the geese and I'm sure not going to try getting past them again. I decided to come back this afternoon with the Island King. I'll tell him the geese like to have their picture taken and then while the mean one is chasing him I'll look for the cache.

Unless I'm too busy laughing at the Island King being chased by a goose LOL